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Introduction
Executive Order 13771 imposed new constraints on executive branch regulatory agencies, directing them to cut two rules for any new rule issued and to offset any costs imposed by new rules. The Regulatory Reform Report for fiscal year (FY) 2018, issued last month by the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), provides an update on agency actions over the course of the year. It shows a present value estimate of $23.4 billion in “overall regulatory costs” saved.
Of that $23.4 billion, more than half came from a single agency: the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). That agency also had 25 deregulatory actions and four regulatory actions in FY 2018. This Regulatory Insight unpacks these figures and finds that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is shouldering the deregulatory burden for HHS by reducing Medicare paperwork, while the other HHS deregulatory initiatives fall short of providing the kind of regulatory relief that President Trump has promised.