Senate Confirms Monarez as CDC Director
By a vote of 51-47 on Tuesday evening, the Senate confirmed Susan Monarez, PhD, as the next director of the CDC. The vote fell along party lines, with 51 Republicans voting for the nominee and all 45 Democratic senators and two Independent senators voting no. Two senators, Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), did […]
Senate Committee Advances HHS Assistant Secretary Nomination
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 12-11 along party lines Thursday to recommend that Brian Christine, MD, be confirmed as assistant secretary for health at HHS, in addition to five other Trump administration nominees. “These nominees are vital to advancing President Trump’s pro-worker, pro-family, pro-patient agenda,” HELP Committee Chair Sen. Bill […]
Senate approves removal of prior authorization for certain behavioral health services
The Senate signed off Thursday evening on a plan to remove prior authorization for outpatient and partial hospitalization for behavioral health services deemed medically necessary.
Senate committee approves strengthened shield law for Illinois providers
A Senate committee approved a plan on Wednesday to strengthen protections for providers that offer medication abortion.
Senate Committee approves expanded implicit bias training for healthcare workers in maternal health
A Senate committee passed a proposal Wednesday to expand implicit bias training for healthcare workers who provide maternal health care.
Want to Get More Healthcare Bills Passed? Fix the Filibuster, Suggests a Senator
WASHINGTON — The Senate could get a lot more done on healthcare and other issues if the rules for holding a filibuster were changed, a senator and his former chief of staff said Wednesday. “Think about, for example, drug prices, where 80% of Americans think every drug should be negotiated so we get the same […]
Opinion | It’s High Time to Protect Farmworkers From Heat-Related Illness and Death
Chicas is an assistant professor of nursing. In November, the Senate admitted defeat in the effort to pass a new version of the Farm Bill, and instead passed a stopgap funding measure to maintain the status quo — until they try again later in 2024 or in 2025. The Farm Bill is a massive piece […]
Opinion | Extend Landmark PEPFAR Program Now
Daschle and Frist are former Senate majority leaders. In 2003, the two of us led opposing political parties in the U.S. Senate. Despite our differences, we joined together to support President George W. Bush in authorizing the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at a time when the global AIDS crisis was spiraling […]
Senators Discuss Making Medicare’s Relaxed Telehealth Rules Permanent
It’s the rare Senate hearing when the only disagreements occur not between senators, but between panelists themselves. Yet that’s what happened at Tuesday’s Senate Finance Healthcare Subcommittee hearing on making particular telehealth rules permanent for the Medicare program. The senators present all agreed on one thing: the current flexible rules for telehealth — such as […]
Senators Grill NIH Director Nominee on Drug Prices, Gender-Affirming Care
WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee questioned Monica Bertagnolli, MD, President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about the high cost of prescription drug prices, the limits of transgender care, and rebuilding faith in the agency, during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Biden tapped Bertagnolli, […]