HHS brings on an affordability czar

Driving the news: HHS has appointed Casey Mulligan as chief economist and chief regulatory officer. He'll advise Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other agency leaders on affordability issues.

The big picture: Health care affordability is emerging as a key political issue as health care costs continue to rise.

• Policymakers and think tanks on both sides of the aisle have been responding with aggressive policy ideas, though tackling underlying health costs would be an enormously difficult political endeavor.

Details: Mulligan was on the Council of Economic Advisers during the first Trump administration and was most recently the U.S. Small Business Administration's chief counsel for advocacy.