News

Hoyer Recovers from Mild Stroke

August 19, 2024

• Weekly Policy Briefing
• Administration
• Capitol Hill

Hoyer Recovers from Mild Stroke-Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), 85, experienced a stroke on August 11, the congressman’s office announced last week. He is not experiencing any lingering symptoms following treatment for the mild ischemic stroke. Hoyer, the former House majority leader, is expected to resume his normal schedule this week.

 

 

George Helmy Tapped to Fill Menendez’s Senate Seat-New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) has appointed his former chief of staff George Helmy to fill the seat of Sen. Bob Menendez (D) until early next year. Menendez was convicted on federal corruption charges last month and will resign from the Senate effective August 20. Helmy is an executive vice president at the New Jersey health system RWJ Barnabas Health and is on the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Rep. Andy Kim (D) is heavily favored to win the full six-year term in the November election, in which Menendez has filed to run as an independent. It remains unclear whether Menendez will remain on the ballot.

 

White House Announces First 10 Negotiated Medicare Drug Prices-On Thursday, the Biden administration announced the maximum fair prices of the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare price negotiation process established by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. The new prices will go into effect for people with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage starting January 1, 2026.

 

The White House estimates that if the new prices had been in effect last year, Medicare would have saved an estimated $6 billion, or 22%, across the 10 selected drugs. Approximately nine million people with Medicare use at least one of the 10 selected drugs, and these individuals are expected to see aggregated estimated savings of $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026. Throughout the negotiation process, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) raised its offers for each drug following discussions with the pharmaceutical manufacturer, while many of the manufacturers lowered their counteroffers. CMS will select up to 15 more Part D drugs for negotiation for 2027 by February 1, 2025. The agency will select up to 15 more drugs covered by Part B or Part D for 2028, and up to 20 more Part B or Part D drugs for each year after that.

 

 

President Announces New Cancer Moonshot Research Awards-President Joe Biden announced $150 million in new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health awards as a part of his Cancer Moonshot initiative last week. The new grants will support eight teams of researchers at Tulane University; Dartmouth College; Johns Hopkins University; Rice University; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; the University of Washington; and Cision Vision in Mountain View, California working to improve tumor removal technologies for people with cancer. The President has stated that the Cancer Moonshot will be a priority of his final months in office. Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, originally authorized as part of the 21^st Century Cures Act while Biden was Vice President, aims to ultimately reduce the nation’s cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years.

 

 

Congressional Retirements and Resignations-A running list of members of Congress who are retiring or seeking other office can be found below.

 

SENATE
Stabenow (D), MI	Braun (R), IN
Cardin (D), MD	Romney (R), UT
Carper (D), DE
Butler (D), CA
Manchin (D), WV
Sinema (I), AZ
Menendez (D), NJ (effective Aug. 20, 2024)
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Porter (D), CA	Mooney (R), WV
Lee (D), CA	Banks (R), IN
Gallego (D), AZ	Bishop (R), NC
Schiff (D), CA	Lesko (R), AZ
Slotkin (D), MI	Granger (R), TX
Allred (D), TX	Burgess, MD (R), TX
Trone (D), MD	Wenstrup, DPM (R), OH
Blunt Rochester (D), DE	McHenry (R), NC
Napolitano (D), CA	Ferguson, IV, DMD, PC (R), GA
Wexton (D), VA	Curtis (R), UT
Kim, Andy (D), NJ	Luetkemeyer (R), MO
Jackson, Jeff (D), NC	Lamborn (R), CO
Sarbanes (D), MD	Bucshon, MD (R), IN
Blumenauer (D), OR	Pence (R), IN
Kilmer (D), WA	Duncan (R), SC
Spanberger (D), VA	Armstrong (R), ND
Kildee (D), MI	McMorris Rodgers (R), WA
Phillips (D), MN	Gallagher (R), WI (effective April 19, 2024)
Cardenas (D), CA	LaTurner (R), KS
Eshoo (D), CA	Graves (R), LA
Manning (D), NC
Nickel (D), NC
Ruppersberger (D), MD
Sablan (D), MP
Kuster (D), NH
Bowman (D), NY

 

 

Upcoming Congressional Hearings and Markups

Senate HELP Committee hearing “Why Is Novo Nordisk Charging Americans with Diabetes and Obesity Outrageously High Prices for Ozempic and Wegovy?” 10:00 a.m.; September 24

 

 

Recently Introduced Health Legislation

H.R.9328-To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish additional presumptions of service connection for certain diseases that occur in veterans who suffered toxic exposure while serving at Karshi Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan; Sponsor: Green, Mark E. [Rep.-R-TN-7]; Committees: House-Veterans’ Affairs

 

H.R.9333-To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an income tax credit for the costs of certain fertility treatments; Sponsor: Kean, Thomas H. [Rep.-R-NJ-7]; Committees: House-Ways and Means

 

H.R.9335-To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to provide services from midwives to covered beneficiaries under the TRICARE program; Sponsor: Kilmer, Derek [Rep.-D-WA-6]; Committees: House-Armed Services

 

H.R.9350-To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to revise part 71 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, to allow for the import of certain dogs without rabies vaccination documentation or an import form, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Kennedy, Timothy M. [Rep.-D-NY-26]; Committees: House-Energy and Commerce

 

H.R.9351-To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to modify certain limitations on disproportionate share hospital payment adjustments under the Medicaid program; Sponsor: LaLota, Nick [Rep.-R-NY-1]; Committees: House-Energy and Commerce

 

H.R.9352-To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act and title 5, United States Code, to require group health plans, health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage, and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program health benefits plans to meet certain requirements with respect to medical child support orders, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Norton, Eleanor Holmes [Del.-D-DC-At Large]; Committees: House-Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means; Oversight and Accountability