POLICY BRIEFINGS

Department of Health and Human Services Announces Personnel Changes


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced several personnel changes.

  • Colin Roskey has been appointed to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation – Oversight and Investigations. Roskey was most recently a partner at Scully, Roskey, and Missmar, PLLC, and previously worked as a health policy advisor and counsel for the Senate Finance Committee.
  • Traci Vitek has been appointed to serve as senior counselor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation – Oversight and Investigations. She was most recently a senior policy director at Crowell & Moring and has previously worked as a Congressional affairs advisor in the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at HHS.
  • Chris Traylor, Deputy Administrator for Strategy at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will begin serving as Acting Director of the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services.
  • Kyle Zebley, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Global Affairs (OGA), has been promoted to Chief of Staff in OGA.
  • Valerie Huber, Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health has been promoted to Senior Policy Advisor in OGA.
  • Kathryn Bell, Policy Advisor in the Immediate Office, has been promoted to Senior Policy Advisor for the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
HHS also announced the departures of Mary Mahew, Director of the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services; Chris Meekins, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Chief of Staff; John Martin, Principal Deputy Commissioner for Legislative Affairs at FDA; and Maddie Brabrook, assistant at the Administration for Children and Families.


Upcoming Congressional Hearings and Meetings


House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on prescription drug price increases; time and place TBD; January 29

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing “Access to Care: Health Centers and Providers in Underserved Communities;” 10:00 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.; January 29


Recently Introduced Health Legislation


H.R.501 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and enhance the poison center national toll-free number, national media campaign, and grant program, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Engel, Eliot L. [D-NY-16]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.506 — To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase hospital competition, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Banks, Jim [R-IN-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Judiciary

H.R.518 — To bar Supreme Court decisions in certain Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cases from citation; Sponsor: Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4]; Committees: House – Judiciary

H.R.519 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for premiums for insurance which constitutes medical care; Sponsor: Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4]; Committees: House - Ways and Means

H.R.520 — To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to exclude coverage of advance care planning services under the Medicare program; Sponsor: Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4]; Committees: House - Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce

H.R.525 — To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a public-private partnership for purposes of identifying health care waste, fraud, and abuse; Sponsor: Rep. Walden, Greg [R-OR-2]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means

H.R.534 — To amend the Public Health Service Act, in relation to requiring adrenoleukodystrophy screening of newborns; Sponsor: Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

S.Res.18 — A resolution authorizing the Senate Legal Counsel to represent the Senate in Texas v. United States No. 4:18-cv-00167-O (N.D. Tex.); Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]; Committees: Senate - Rules and Administration

S.116 — A bill to address maternal mortality and morbidity; Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]; Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

S.123 — A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract or other agreement with a third party to review appointees in the Veterans Health Administration who had a license terminated for cause by a State licensing board for care or services rendered at a non-Veterans Health Administration facility and to provide individuals treated by such an appointee with notice if it is determined that an episode of care or services to which they received was below the standard of care, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]; Committees: Senate - Veterans’ Affairs

S.130 — A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion; Sponsor: Sen. Sasse, Ben [RNE]; Committees: Senate – Judiciary

S.131 — A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to prohibit Federal Medicaid funding for the administrative costs of providing health benefits to individuals who are unauthorized immigrants; Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]; Committees: Senate – Finance

H.R.547 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adopt and implement a standard identification protocol for use in the tracking and procurement of biological implants by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Roe, David P. [R-TN-1]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

H.R.566 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove the manifestation period required for the presumptions of service connection for chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, and acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents; Sponsor: Rep. Courtney, Joe [D-CT-2]; Committees: House - Veterans’ Affairs

H.R.573 — To amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from conducting or supporting any research involving human fetal tissue that is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Rep. Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R-MO-3]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce

H.R.576 — To expand Medicare coverage to include eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dental care; Sponsor: Rep. Roybal- Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40]; Committees: House - Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means

S.143 — A bill to authorize the Department of Energy to conduct collaborative research with the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to improve healthcare services for veterans in the United States, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]; Committees: Senate - Energy and Natural Resources

S.172 — A bill to delay the reimposition of the annual fee on health insurance providers until after 2021; Sponsor: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]; Committees: Senate – Finance



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