This week, our In Focus section examines how the federal government implemented changes to the Medicare program in response to COVID-19. As the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States, Congress and the Administration responded with a series of legislative, regulatory, and subregulatory changes to the Medicare program that were designed to provide relief from certain Medicare rules to assist health care providers, Medicare Advantage organizations, and Part D plans in responding to the pandemic. Some of these changes waived conditions of Medicare participation to enable patients to be treated in alternative care settings.