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Health Updates


Nov 8, 2025
Health

FDA Announces Recall of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula Due to Outbreak of Infant Botulism

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement in response to an announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of a decision to recall ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula due to an outbreak of infant botulism, which is currently being investigated. “The Committee has a history of conducting oversight of infant formula matters to ensure adequate supply is safe and readily available for families and children. President Trump’s FDA has also done important work through Operation Stork Speed to address these issues, and I am pleased to see his Administration take swift action to restore confidence for caretakers when it comes to their little ones’ nutritional needs,” said Chairman Guthrie . “I am grateful to HHS Secretary Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Makary for furthering our commitment to protecting children and mothers through improving the safety and availability of the domestic infant formula supply.”   Background:    The Committee has conducted extensive oversight of the Biden Administration’s mishandling of the infant-formula shortage and challenged the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on its preparedness, inspection practices, and responsiveness to early warnings about the formula crisis.  On May 25, 2022, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled “Formula Safety and Supply: Protecting the Health of America’s Babies” during the infant-formula shortage to examine supply, safety, and what further action was needed.  Following the hearing, the Committee sent a letter to then FDA Commissioner, Robert M. Califf, directing the Biden Administration to provide access to the memos and reports sent to the White House and demanding that the administration be completely transparent with parents who deserve answers.   On September 21, 2022, Energy and Commerce Republicans convinced Committee Democrats to join in passing a bipartisan resolution  requesting that the Biden administration turn over documents related to the baby formula shortage. H.Res.1287 was reported out of the committee by a vote of 54-0.    Chairman Guthrie has also introduced legislation to help prevent future baby formula shortages—the More Options for Infants and Parents Act— and signed on as a cosponsor to the Improving Newborn Formula Access for a Nutritious Tomorrow (INFANT) Act , to enhance testing of infant formula for contaminants and improve resilience of supply. ###



Nov 5, 2025
In the News

ICYMI: Democrats Blocked GOP Measure to ‘Lower Premiums by Nearly Double’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, Breitbart recently featured Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, who shared ways in which Republicans have already voted to lower health care premiums that Democrats opposed in the Working Families Tax Cuts. In Case You Missed It: “House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) told Breitbart News that Republican proposals would have lowered health insurance premiums by nearly double compared to the Biden-era enhanced Obamacare credits. “What we’ve heard from both sides of the aisle is that Obamacare is not affordable. But what we’ve not heard is Democrats acknowledge the waste, fraud, and abuse that’s been enabled by these temporary subsidies — including massive handouts to big health insurance companies and expanded taxpayer subsidies to the wealthiest Obamacare enrollees,’ Guthrie told Breitbart News in a written statement. “Congressional Democrats’ demands to open the government are partly based on the premise that affordable health care is out of reach for many Americans. What Democrats now want as part of $1.5 trillion in additional federal spending is a permanent and everlasting program that they designated to expire in 2025,’ Griffith told Breitbart News. “The congressmen spoke to Breitbart News as the Democrat shutdown has continued for more than a month. Democrats shut down the government over expiring Biden-era enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, credits. Democrats first enhanced the Obamacare credits through the Biden coronavirus stimulus plan, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. The Democrat party then continued the credits with the passage of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act until the end of 2025, where Guthrie says they spent most of the month refusing to work with Republicans on meaningful solutions to lower healthcare costs. “With the Democrat-designed sunset date of December 31 for these COVID-era subsidies, we could have been utilizing this month to continue finding more tangible, meaningful solutions to make health care more affordable for Americans. Instead, Democrats chose to hold the American people hostage over billion-dollar handouts to big insurance companies,’ the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman continued. “Democrats initially created the temporary COVID-19 era ‘enhanced’ premium tax credits to help people who struggled from the economic fallout of the pandemic. But now, Democrats are doubling down on the temporary ‘enhanced’ credits as a means to subsidize Obamacare,’ Griffith said. “He added, ‘Whether intended or not, this is a stunning admission that President Obama’s signature healthcare program, Obamacare, has failed to provide affordable health care to the American people. Issues to soften the impacts of the Democratic Party’s failed policies can be discussed if we get the government open again.’ “Republicans such as Guthrie have criticized the Obamacare enhanced credits, more formally known as the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC), because they are essentially direct payments to health insurers to lower healthcare costs. “While Democrats such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have accused Republicans of not wanting to provide health care to ‘everyday Americans,’ Democrats moved to nix substantial reform that would have drastically lowered health insurance premiums while the Big Beautiful Bill worked its way through the Senate. “In June, Democrats lobbied the Senate parliamentarian to scrap the ACA cost-sharing reduction payments (CSRs) from the Big Beautiful Bill, saying that it violates the Byrd Rule and thus requires 60 votes to be included in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Funding CSRs would lower benchmark silver premiums used to set subsidy amounts. CSR payments are a type of financial assistance that would help lower out-of-pocket costs for eligible individuals and families that enroll in a Silver Obamacare plan. “The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that these healthcare reforms would have lowered healthcare premiums by 12.7 percent and reduced costs by decreasing the need for Obamacare EPTCs CSR. CSR would have lowered costs by $30.8 billion. “Andy Slavitt, President Barack Obama’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator, in 2017 said that CSR payments would drastically reduce health insurance premiums: “Democrats have not once approached me, or my staff, to find a path forward. Republicans, time and again, have voted for policies that lower healthcare premiums by nearly double what extending Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits would. Democrats unanimously opposed these commonsense policies and actively worked to undermine our efforts to lower premiums for the 7 percent of Americans who choose to enroll in an Obamacare plan. We stand ready to work across the aisle to advance real solutions that address the root causes impacting health care affordability,’ Guthrie continued. “The Biden-era enhanced Obamacare credits were meant to alleviate the costs of the pandemic and will soon expire. The generous nature of the subsidies gave some of the wealthiest Americans access to these benefits. This includes, according to the Energy and Commerce Committee: In North Carolina, an early retiree worth over $10 million qualified for over $17,000 in annual taxpayer subsidies for his Obamacare plan. Accountants in Texas were actively advertising how they were helping multi-millionaires get free or nearly free health insurance based on Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits. A family of four in Arizona making $600,000 a year, a married couple in West Virginia making $580,000, a single person in Vermont making $180,000 a year… taxpayers were suddenly subsidizing these people’s Obamacare plans thanks to the Democrats’ temporary COVID Credit policy. “The Paragon Health Institute estimated that annual Obamacare enrollment fraud could exceed $26 billion. The same think tank also found that the expiring Obamacare credits minimally impacted 2026 premiums, which counters a Democrat narrative that the expiration of those credits is responsible for health insurance price increases.” ###



Sep 19, 2025
Press Release

ICYMI: Washington Examiner Feature: House Pushes for Transparency About ‘Threats to Patient Safety’ in Organ Transplant System

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – In case you missed it, the Washington Examiner published an article featuring a letter from House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ-06), along with Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), and Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), requesting a briefing on HRSA’s ongoing oversight of patient safety in the nation’s organ procurement and transplant system. In Case You Missed It: “House Republicans and Democrats are pressing the Department of Health and Human Services to increase transparency on possible ‘systemic problems’ and ‘threats to patient safety’ in the national organ transplant system, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. “Bipartisan leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to Health Resources and Services Administrator Thomas Engels on Friday, probing whether the agency is able to conduct a wide-ranging review of patient safety after multiple reported incidents of organ donor patients being egregiously mistreated by organ procurement organizations. “Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), along with ranking Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ), John Joyce (R-PA), and Yvette Clarke (D-NY), said in a joint statement on Tuesday that their investigation into the organ procurement system ‘has demonstrated the need for further oversight’ and that problems may exist nationwide. “The American people should be able to have full faith and confidence in our organ donor and transplant system, and we will continue to work together to prevent these harmful practices from continuing,’ said the bipartisan representatives in their statement. “The Energy and Commerce Committee began its longer-term investigation testimony last fall about a Kentucky patient, Anthony Thomas Hoover II, whose family agreed to proceed with organ donation following an overdose in 2021. “Although Hoover’s neurological condition improved, representatives from the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, the organ procurement organization serving Kentucky, moved forward with the organ retrieval process. Records indicate that Hoover woke up on the operating table before the retrieval surgery, and hospital staff intervened to stop the procedure. “HRSA, which oversees the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and its contractor organ procurement organizations, conducted its own internal investigation into the Kentucky situation following the revelation of Hoover’s case. “The HRSA corrective action plan, issued in May, examined 351 organ procurement cases in Kentucky between December 2024 and February 2025 that did not result in donation. “About 30% of those cases, 103 patients, presented ‘concerning features,’ including 73 patients who showed neurological signs of life after being approved for organ donation surgery and 28 patients who may have survived entirely since there was no cardiac time of death recorded. “Other ‘concerning features’ of the incidents in the HRSA report, according to Guthrie and his House colleagues, include ‘issues related to patient and family interactions, medical assessments and healthcare team interactions, recognition of high neurological function, and recognition and documentation of drugs in patient records.’ “HRSA’s testimony and other public reports suggest that these patterns are not limited to instances detailed in HRSA’s report and may exist in other parts of the country,’ Guthrie and his colleagues wrote. “The bipartisan representatives in their letter cited a New York Times piece published in August about Misty Hawkins, 42, from Alabama, who was taken off life support in the spring of 2024 and prepped for organ donation. Doctors discovered while she was on the operating table that her heart was still beating and she was breathing during her organ retrieval surgery. “Last week, another story came to light of a 22-year-old patient from Kentucky who, in 2019, was taken to surgery to have his organs removed for donation despite still having a heartbeat and not being declared brain dead. “Larry Black Jr., who arrived at the hospital a week prior due to a gunshot wound to the head, was rescued from surgery just in time by another physician. Now at 28, he is a father to three children. “HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed HRSA in July to conduct a deeper investigation into the Kentucky organ procurement case, saying that ‘the entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential donor’s life is treated with the sanctity it deserves.’ “But the agency has not yet announced plans for a nationwide review of organ transplant systems. “Guthrie and his House colleagues requested that HRSA provide more information on the current status of all patient safety complaints that the agency has received and whether or not HRSA has the capacity ‘to initiate other wide-ranging reviews appropriate, in response to a patient safety complaint that may suggest a systemic problem.’ “The committee requested a staff-level briefing no later than September 26. “Americans’ confidence in the system comes when patient safety is protected,’ said the bipartisan House coalition.”   ###



Sep 18, 2025
Health

HHS Announces Decertification of Florida OPO and Instates Further Safety Guidelines for Our Organ Procurement and Transplant System

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, issued the following statement in response to an announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of a decision to decertify the organ procurement organization (OPO) covering South Florida, as well as new efforts by the Health Services and Resources Administration’s (HRSA) to improve operations within the organ procurement and transplant system. “It is critical to ensure that all entities involved in the organ procurement and transplantation process operate safely, and we are grateful to HHS for their instrumental action taken today to mitigate some of the harmful practices that have come to light through rigorous investigations by this Committee and HRSA,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce. “The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on issues related to patient safety in July and will continue working to protect patients and their families to restore trust in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system. We applaud HHS for building upon those efforts through the actions taken today and look forward to continuing to work with them.”   Background:   Today, HHS announced it is moving to decertify an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO)—the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, a division of the University of Miami Health System—after an investigation uncovered years of unsafe practices, poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.  HHS also announced reforms to restore integrity and trust in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), including:  Imposing safeguards to prevent line-skipping in organ allocation, immediately protecting nearly 300 patients.  Holding a special election, which spurred record turnout, to install an independent OPTN board.  Establishing a strengthened misconduct reporting system, giving patients and providers a direct channel for safety concerns.  Creating a transparency tool that shows when organs are allocated outside the standard match list.  Removing “DEI” provisions from the 2024 IOTA model to ensure procedural fairness.  Through its extensive investigation, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has uncovered concerning practices in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system.   On July 22, 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing examining concerning practices within our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system that were also identified by HRSA’s investigation.    On September 12, 2025, Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce and Ranking Members Pallone and Clarke wrote a letter to HRSA requesting a briefing on its ongoing oversight of patient safety in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system.  ###



Sep 18, 2025
Health

Health Subcommittee Holds Health Legislative Hearing on Enhancing Seniors’ Access to Breakthrough Medical Technology

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, led a legislative hearing on examining policies to enhance seniors’ access to breakthrough medical technologies. “These policies are essential to reducing regulatory barriers to help patients get timely access to care, while also bringing more transparency into the coverage process at CMS,” said Chairman Griffith. “It is our job as Congress to ensure that patients are able to access treatments, screenings, or devices in a timely manner—especially if there are no other alternatives on the market.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (TN-01) on the bill To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure transparency in the national coverage determination process under the Medicare program and to make certain adjustments to Medicare local coverage determinations: “My question is, how should Medicare prioritize coverage pathways for therapies that address these high burden diseases?” Dr. Brinton: “As I said, this is obviously a huge number of Medicare beneficiaries [that] suffer from cardiovascular disorders. Ultimately, as we mentioned before, transitional coverage—the [Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies] as we exist today—provides an opportunity, but it’s limited basically to five technologies. This is a pace that requires [Coverage with Evidence Development] to get to a national coverage decision, but there’s an opportunity for a lot more than that to broaden the capability. There are technologies that we need to have available to seniors. The opportunity to do that basically provides accelerating this process.”   Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) on the Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act of 2025: “Innovation has long been the cornerstone of American medicine. It’s how I practiced medicine for 25 years. America has consistently led the world in development of new and innovative therapies and cutting-edge medical devices. However, due to the current payment structure of Medicare, our nation’s seniors frequently can be excluded from accessing the newest medical device technology. In fact, this delay in coverage following an FDA approval by CMS has the unfortunate name of the valley of death.” Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) on the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act: “Late-stage cancer diagnoses are the deadliest, require treatments that take the hardest toll on patients, and cost the most to treat. That’s why I was proud to coauthor the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act with my colleagues Representatives Hudson, Arrington, Sewell, Ruiz, and Kelly. This critical legislation gives CMS the authority to cover multi-cancer early detection tests once they’re approved by the FDA, ensuring our nation’s seniors have access to groundbreaking innovation that will transform how we diagnose and prevent cancer progression.” ###



Sep 18, 2025
Health

Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Subcommittee on Health Legislative Hearing on Enhancing Seniors’ Access to Breakthrough Medical Technology

WASHINGTON, D.C . – Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, delivered the following opening statement at today’s legislative hearing on policies to enhance seniors’ access to breakthrough medical technologies. Subcommittee Chairman Griffith’s opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Today’s legislative hearing will focus on several bills aimed at enhancing seniors’ access to life-saving and life-sustaining breakthrough medical technologies.   “These policies are essential to reducing  regulatory barriers to help patients get timely access to care while also bringing more transparency into the coverage process at CMS. “I think we can all agree that federal agencies can be inefficient and very bureaucratic in instances. “It is our job as Congress to ensure that patients are able to access treatments, screenings, or devices in a timely manner, especially if there are no other alternatives on the market. “This hearing is the next step in the process. “One of the bills we are considering is H.R. 842, the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, led by Representatives Arrington and Sewell, would establish a new coverage pathway at CMS for multi-cancer early detection screening test—so that once these tests are approved by FDA, Medicare beneficiaries can access these tests in a timely manner. “These multi-cancer screening tests allow for patients to take a blood test to screen for over 50 different types of cancers. “This allows us to do additional testing to narrow the results down to one potential cancer and yields a low false positive rate. “It is essential that Medicare beneficiaries can get screened for cancers early and get treated. This can save lives and reduce costs for patients and Federal taxpayers. “I am proud to be one of this bill’s 300 bipartisan cosponsors. “Another bill being considered today is the Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act, which will ensure seniors have timely access to innovative medical technologies. “Many medical devices currently fall into what is known as the ‘valley of death.’ “This refers to the period between FDA approval of a device and when Medicare covers this technology. During the first Trump Administration, this led to CMS issuing a proposed rule in 2020 titled Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (or MCIT). “This pathway would have provided FDA-approved breakthrough medical devices four years of Medicare coverage while working on a longer term coverage determination. “The goal was to accelerate the benefits of these innovative technologies to benefit patients quicker. “This rule was repealed in 2021 by the Biden Administration and was replaced with the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (or TCET) pathway. “They cited the repeal was due to it having ‘unknown or unexpected risks’ for Medicare beneficiaries, which compared to MCIT, had many more regulatory hurdles and barriers for devices to come to market and is limited to only five new breakthrough technologies each year. “Getting this bill signed into law will bring us back closer to the original MCIT rule, spurring more innovation in the medical device and enhancing seniors timely access to medical innovations. “I personally am frustrated with CMS acting more as a scientific regulatory agency than an agency focused on reimbursing for FDA approved products. FDA is the scientific regulatory agency. “I am sure everyone here has heard complaints about the opaque and slow-moving National Coverage Determination process at CMS or had frustrations with Local Coverage Determinations. “One of the bills in front of us today will bring more transparency and accountability at CMS into both these coverage determination processes. “The final bill being considered today is H.R. 3826, the Expanding Access to Diabetes Self-Management Training Act by Representatives Schrier and Bilirakis. “This bill expands access to Diabetes Self-Management Training. This training is critical for individuals living with diabetes since it will help them cope, manage, and learn best practices when dealing with their diabetes. This bill will help increase the amount of educational opportunities for diabetes wellness training, lower costs for patients, and provide more access to certain services. “All of these bills before us today are important to bring more care to patients and achieve better health outcomes overall. “I am excited to hear from our expert panelists today to learn more about these bills and the importance of them.”



Sep 15, 2025
Press Release

Energy and Commerce Weekly Look Ahead: The Week of September 15th, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – This week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is holding four Subcommittee Hearings and one Full Committee Markup. Read more below. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy is holding a hearing to discuss building and appliance policies that could strengthen consumer choice, lower costs for American families, and make our electric grid more reliable. DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 2025  TIME: 10:15 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment is holding a hearing to discuss permitting reform under the Clean Air Act. DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 2025  TIME: 2:00 PM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP: The Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a markup of seven bills. DATE: Wednesday, September 17, 2025  TIME: 10:00 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Heath is holding a hearing to discuss legislation that improves seniors’ access to cutting-edge health innovation. DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2025  TIME: 9:30 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology is holding a hearing to discuss permitting reform for enhanced connectivity. DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2025  TIME: 2:00 PM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building  ###



Sep 11, 2025
Health

Health Subcommittee Advances Public Health Reauthorization Bills to Full Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, led a markup of several public health reauthorization bills. “As we must do with every authorization bill that moves through this committee, it is critical that we evaluate the impacts these programs have had, and not only ensure the money is being spent as it was originally intended, but also ensure patient privacy is protected ,” said Chairman Griffith. “ Considering each of these reauthorizations is an important step forward to ensure each program is working as intended, and we will continue to examine these programs as we move to full committee .” Legislative Vote Summary: H.R. 4262 , To reauthorize programs related to health professions education, and for other purposes, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 3593 , Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 2493 , Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 3419 , To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 3302 ,  Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 2846 , To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to include as an additional right or privilege of commissioned officers of the Public Health Service (and their beneficiaries) certain leave provided under title 10, United States Code to commissioned officers of the Army (or their beneficiaries), was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 4709 ,  Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote Watch the full markup here . Below are key excerpts from today’s markup: Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) on the To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs : “This bill reauthorizes the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. These programs aim to improve access to telehealth services by providing technical assistance and other support methods to providers in rural and frontier communities, so patients in these areas can more easily access necessary telehealth services. Approximately 22,000 patients across the country have benefited from these programs. We must continue these vital resources to help improve health outcomes in underserved communities.” Chairman John Joyce (PA-13) on the Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025: “The Improving Care in Rural America [Reauthorization Act] is legislation that accomplishes something that is so important for the constituents that don't have that access to screening, that don't have that access to care, and it is important that we reauthorize this. Representative Carter, in his legislation, understands that rural America is often left behind. This is a bipartisan piece of legislation that addresses that issue, that understands that we have a responsibility to all of our constituents, to all of America.”



Sep 11, 2025
Health

Chairmen Guthrie and Griffith Announce Legislative Hearing to Discuss Legislation Expanding Seniors’ Access to Innovative Medical Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, announced a hearing titled Examining Policies to Enhance Seniors’ Access to Breakthrough Medical Technologies. “More than 68 million Americans rely on Medicare for life-saving treatments and critical care. Unfortunately, outdated coverage policies and bureaucratic hurdles can delay or leave seniors without access to the most innovative and effective treatments and services,”  said Congressmen Guthrie and Griffith.  “This hearing will examine policies to establish Medicare coverage of multi-cancer early detection tests, enhance transparency and accountability in the CMS coverage process, and cut red tape to ensure beneficiaries can access the latest breakthrough medical devices and technology.” Subcommittee on Health hearing titled Examining Policies to Enhance Seniors’ Access to Breakthrough Medical Technologies WHAT: Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss legislation that improves seniors’ access to cutting-edge health innovation. DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2025 TIME: 9:30 AM ET LOCATION:  2123 Rayburn House Office Building This hearing will focus on the following bills:  H.R. 842 , Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (Rep. Arrington) H.R. ____ , [Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act of 2025]  H.R. ____ , [To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure transparency in the national coverage determination process under the Medicare program and to make certain adjustments to Medicare local coverage determinations.]  H.R. 3826 , Expanding Access to Diabetes Self-Management Training Act of 2025 (Rep. Schrier) This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. This hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed at energycommerce.house.gov If you have any questions about this hearing, please contact Annabelle Huffman at Annabelle.Huffman@mail.house.gov . If you have any press related questions, please contact Katie West at Katie.West@mail.house.gov .