Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Here Are The Lawmakers Who May Take The Gavels Of Committees That Oversee Health Care
The Wall Street Journal: Meet The New Agenda Setters In The House
In winning control of the House of Representatives, Democrats take over the chairman’s seat in the chamber’s committees. Here are the men and women likely to be setting the agenda for key committees, and what policy changes to expect from them. (11/7)
CQ HealthBeat: 116th Congress: House Ways & Means Committee
On the health agenda, shoring up the exchanges created under the 2010 health care law and lowering the cost of prescription drugs are the top priorities for the panel. The retirement of Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., opens up the top spot on the Health Subcommittee. California Rep. Mike Thompson is currently the panel’s most senior member who doesn’t lead a subcommittee. Other senior committee members like Reps. Lloyd Doggett, of Texas, and Bill Pascrell, Jr., of New Jersey, are also outspoken on health issues. (Lerman and McIntire, 11/12)
CQ: 116th Congress: Senate Health, Education, Labor And Pensions Committee
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will see only modest change next year. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., will be chairman again and Patty Murray, D-Wash., is likely to remain as ranking member. On health care, the committee may continue its shift away from changes to the 2010 health care law and focus on reducing the cost of prescription drugs. Alexander and Murray held a number of hearings on drug costs during the 115th Congress and identified it as a future priority. Their previous bipartisan attempts to stabilize the individual market are expected to take a back seat due to disagreements over language related to abortion funding. (Raman, 11/12)
CQ: 116th Congress: Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
With Republicans retaining control of the Senate, Georgia Republican Johnny Isakson will serve his final two years as chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee before six-year GOP term limits set in. Isakson will continue oversight of the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, a nationwide bureaucracy with about 300,000 employees who are tasked with providing prompt and quality medical care to more than 9 million veterans across the country. (Kelley, 11/12)
CQ: 116th Congress: Senate Aging Committee
The Special Committee on Aging is likely to be led for a third term by Maine Republican Susan Collins. She has been a member of the panel since 1997, her entire Senate career. She will look at combating fraud against older Americans, working to help make it easier for Americans to save money for retirement and increasing funding for biomedical research, especially for diseases that disproportionately affect seniors such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s. (Teitelbaum, 11/12)
