Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered remarks on the House floor regarding H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, legislation that prohibits federal Medicaid funds from being used toward gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.

Chairman Guthrie’s remarks on H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act:

“I rise today in strong support of H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act.

“This bill helps support our fellow hard-working Americans, whose valuable—and finite—taxpayer dollars should not continue to fund medically unnecessary care under the Medicaid Program.

“It is our duty as members of Congress to focus hard-earned taxpayer dollars on care that is medically necessary to improve the health of Americans.

“H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, does just that—prohibiting federal Medicaid dollars from going toward specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.

“My fellow House Republicans, and particularly my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee, have worked diligently this Congress to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

“Our goal is to eliminate unnecessary and improper spending to strengthen, secure, and sustain the Medicaid program for those who are truly among the most vulnerable populations: expectant mothers, their children, low-income seniors, and individuals with disabilities.

“CBO estimates that this bill would save taxpayers $445 million over a decade.

“I want to make it abundantly clear that this legislation, in no way, prevents minors from accessing medical care that they truly need.

“It simply prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funding on specified gender transition procedures that are medically unnecessary.

“This critical legislation builds upon our work in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to create a more sustainable financial future for Medicaid and preserve the program for the times when people truly need to lean on it.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), issued a statement following House passage of H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act—legislation that prohibits federal Medicaid dollars from going toward specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.

“The Do No Harm in Medicaid Act helps strengthen, sustain, and secure our Medicaid program by ensuring federal Medicaid funding is not used for medically unnecessary care for minors,” said Chairman Guthrie. “I’m thankful to my colleague, Representative Dan Crenshaw, for his diligent work in protecting our nation’s children. It’s our duty as members of Congress to support our fellow Americans—especially our most vulnerable—by prohibiting valuable and finite taxpayer dollars from continuing to fund controversial, life-altering gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.”

“Using Medicaid for unscientific, irreversible procedures on minors is an abominable betrayal of our most vulnerable,” said Rep. Crenshaw. “This is a crucial step in protecting our children from the depraved actors that would do them harm.”

Background on H.R. 498:

• H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, prohibits federal Medicaid funding for specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.
• The House also passed this bill as a provision within H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill, on May 22, 2025.
• The Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 498 would reduce direct spending for Medicaid and CHIP by $445 million over the 2026-2035 period.
• Publicly available polling has consistently indicated that Americans oppose providing children with puberty blockers and irreversible surgeries.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today a series of proposed regulatory actions to carry out President Trump’s Executive Order directing HHS to end the practice of sex-rejecting procedures on children that expose young people to irreversible harm, including pharmaceutical or surgical interventions that attempt to align a child’s physical appearance or body with an asserted identity different from their sex.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered remarks on the House floor regarding H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, legislation that establishes new rules for association health plans, modifies requirements for individual and group health coverage, requires contracts between plan sponsors and PBMs to meet certain standards, and appropriates funding for reductions in cost sharing.

Chairman Guthrie’s remarks on H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, as prepared for delivery:

“I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.

“When the Democrats passed Obamacare over a decade ago, they sold the bill on the promise that it would lower health care costs and preserve plan options.

“‘If you like your plan, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep them.’

“These famous last words still haunt us.

“Today, we know that Obamacare has not lived up to Democrats’ lofty promises; instead, the consequences of that bill continue to burden American patients as they have since its enactment.

“Health care spending has nearly doubled since Obamacare passed. Health plan options have been decimated by Democratic overreach, and millions of Americans are saddled with medical debt across the country.

“Obamacare premiums are up 80 percent since the program’s inception, with patients paying on average $5,000 out of their own pocket to hit their deductible, and the average out of pocket spending maximum for one year is over $20,000!

“Without a doubt, Obamacare has proven to be unaffordable and unsustainable.

“In an attempt to respond to the affordability crisis created by Obamacare, Democrats leveraged a public health emergency to shovel hundreds of billions of dollars to big health insurance plans to mask the rising unaffordability of coverage.

“First in the American Rescue plan of 2021, and then again in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023, Democrats sent temporary taxpayer funded ‘enhanced’ premium tax credits directly to the coffers of big health insurance plans.

“They did this without a single Republican vote of support.

“On both occasions, Democrats chose to make these COVID Credits temporary. They could have made them permanent, but they chose instead to focus on advancing priorities for wealthy Americans to buy subsidized EVs and for politically connected cronies to siphon federal dollars out of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction slush Fund.

“Now, Democrats are uniting behind a policy to send billions more taxpayer dollars to big health insurance plans.

“With the Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits set to expire at the end of the year, they are attempting to turn their policy failures into political gains—using the American people as collateral.

“It is worth reiterating – Democrats funded temporary band aids to cover up unaffordable care, they set the expiration dates, and they chose to fund liberal priorities instead of making them permanent.

“While Democrats continue to fearmonger, I wanted to shed light on what Republicans are doing to fix the Democrats’ affordability crisis, with policies that deliver real, lasting relief to the American people.

“This includes:

• Eliminating health plan gimmicks like silver loading, which will lower ACA premiums by 11 percent;
• Increasing transparency for pharmacy benefit manager middlemen and lowering drug costs for all Americans; and
• Increasing affordable plan choices and putting patients back in the driver’s seat for their own health care choices by instituting Association Health Plans, CHOICE Arrangements, and stop-loss insurance.

“This proposal results in more than double the premium reduction than the Democrats’ extension of the enhanced COVID subsidies. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Republican plan before us will lower premiums by 11 percent, compared to just 5 percent from continuing the Democrats’ subsidies.

“These policies will also lower health care costs for all Americans, not just the roughly-seven percent of Americans enrolled in Obamacare.

“And many of these policies are bipartisan! Ending silver loading, addressing nefarious PBM practices, and strengthening the employer insurance marketplace have all garnered broad bipartisan support.

“I hope we can overlook the politics that are clouding the issue, come together to pass this bill, and continue work together into 2026 to deliver more affordable health care to all Americans.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – 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, MD (PA-13), and Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), wrote to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) requesting a briefing on its ongoing oversight of patient safety in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system.   In July, the Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing in response to a HRSA investigative report that found patient safety concerns at Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KYDA) – the organ procurement organization (OPO) serving the state of Kentucky. In the investigative report, HRSA revealed that of the 351 cases reviewed, 103 cases (29.3 percent) showed “concerning features.” These concerning features included problems with patient-family interactions, medical assessments and team interactions, recognition of high neurologic function, and recognition and documentation of drugs in records.   In addition, HRSA issued a corrective action plan to address the findings in its report specific to KYDA and directing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Board of Directors to develop certain safety guidelines for the entire OPTN. The corrective action plan raised further questions about the possibility that there may be more systemic issues at OPOs across the country, noting that “ [s]ince the review of KYDA was initiated, HRSA has received reports of similar patterns of high risk [donation after circulatory death] procurement practices at other OPOs .” Moreover, during the July hearing, HRSA’s Organ Transplant Branch Chief, Dr. Raymond Lynch was questioned about the potential failure to adhere to existing protocols by Rep. Erin Houchin (IN-09): “ is it a broader systemic issue or is it limited to KYDA ?” Dr. Lynch responded that “ [u]nfortunately, it is not limited to KYDA. During the course of this investigation we received concerns that were in areas served by other OPOs. ”  Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce and Ranking Members Pallone and Clarke issued the following joint statement:    “ The Committee’s examination of the organ procurement and transplant system has demonstrated the need for further oversight.  Testimony from the July hearing, HRSA’s investigative report and corrective action plan, and continued reports of similar patterns at other OPOs all raise serious concerns. 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. Americans’ confidence in the system comes when patient safety is protected. ”    Read the full letter  here . Background:  ·       During the 118th Congress, the Committee on Energy and Commerce  passed  the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act to both modernize the OPTN and allow HRSA to institute a competitive contracting process to find the best contractors for various OPTN functions. This legislation was signed into law on September 22, 2023.   ·       On March 20, 2024, the Committee  launched an investigation  into the organ procurement and transplantation system by sending  a letter  to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) requesting information related to concerns surrounding data security and operability, patient safety and equity, and conflicts of interest.    ·       On March 20, 2024, the Committee also sent  a letter  to HRSA requesting information related to implementation of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act as well as other concerns related to effective oversight and management.   ·       On September 11, 2024, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a  hearing  that focused on the implementation of reforms at the OPTN, including the need for stronger oversight and accountability as well as ongoing patient safety concerns.   ·       During the hearing, questions were raised related to allegations of mismanagement and patient safety concerns after patients began exhibiting signs of increased neurologic function after being previously deemed suitable as an organ donation candidate. Several of these allegations, particularly those related to patient safety, were later substantiated through the findings contained in HRSA’s March 2025 report.   ·       On March 24, 2025, HRSA’s Division of Transplantation issued a  report  that summarized the findings of its investigation into KYDA, the OPO now known as Network for Hope, which serves Kentucky and parts of Ohio, West Virgina, and Indiana.  ·       On May 28, 2025, HRSA issued a  CAP  to OPTN, which directed the OTPN to take specific actions within a specified period of time, including developing a 12-month OPTN monitoring plan for KYDA to address concerns identified. The corrective action plan also requires the OPTN to propose policies for public comment to improve safeguards for potential donation after circulatory death (DCD) patients in the organ procurement process and increase information shared with patient families regarding DCD organ procurement.   ·       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 identified by HRSA’s investigation.   ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Reps. Palmer (AL-06), Carter (GA-01), Bilirakis (FL-12), and Obernolte (CA-23), penned a letter to the Executive Director of Covered California (CoveredCA), Jessica Altman, to request further information related to the potentially unauthorized transmission of sensitive personal health information involving Covered California’s website. Key Letter Excerpt: “According to public reports and agency statements, tracking technology was embedded on Covered California's website beginning in February 2024, as part of a broader digital advertising effort, and in direct contravention of the tracking platform’s user agreement, which prohibits the use of such tools on pages that collect sensitive health information. Although the tags were reportedly removed in April 2025, following external scrutiny and a vendor transition, the extended period of data exposure raises serious questions about the adequacy of safeguards that Covered California had in place. Forensic testing by investigative reporters identified the trackers in operation and confirmed that user-entered health information was being transmitted to third parties without consent. These circumstances warrant examination of Covered California’s actions under federal privacy standards.” “Ensuring the confidentiality of health information is a foundational obligation for entities operating within the health insurance ecosystem. Federal privacy protections, particularly the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), establish expectations for how covered organizations handle sensitive data. Recent reports and public filings raised questions about whether those expectations were met in this case, and whether existing oversight mechanisms are sufficient to detect and prevent improper disclosures.” Background: Forensic testing shows Covered California —the State of California’s official health insurance marketplace—has been sending sensitive user health data to third-party websites through several online data trackers. Prior to removal of the trackers, CoveredCA had more than 60 trackers active on its website; the average number of trackers on a government website is three. Some types of information sent to such websites include: Searches for doctors in network with specific plans/specializations Demographic information, including gender, ethnicity, and marital status Length of treatment a patent received by a provider Frequency of doctor visits If the user indicated they were blind, pregnant, a victim of domestic abuse, or used prescription medications. The State of California independently operates CoveredCA. As the state’s official ACA marketplace, CoveredCA falls under the purview of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The disclosure of information such as pregnancy or prescription drug use without proper consent—even for “marketing purposes”—may violate HIPAA. This Congress, the Committee has sent letters to 23andMe and DeepSeek over potential data privacy concerns: The Committee also held a hearing last Congress on the Change Healthcare hack, where personal health information was also jeopardized. CLICK HERE to read Fox News coverage of the letter. CLICK HERE to view the full letter. ###

Washington, D.C. — In a new letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Christi Grimm, House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans requested an investigation into the strength, quality, and types of evidence-based scientific and pediatric medical literature relied on by the department to promote gender transition procedures for children.  KEY LETTER EXCERPT:  “As the agency responsible for safeguarding the health and well-being of Americans, all of HHS’s medical treatment recommendations, especially medical treatment recommendations for children, should be based on rigorous and well-established research, such as randomized controlled trials, that have definitively illustrated the long-term benefits of gender affirming care treatments.”  BACKGROUND:  Under the Biden administration, HHS has advocated for sex reassignment procedures on minors, including the use of serum puberty blockers, which have historically been used to treat children with precocious puberty (i.e., early onset puberty affecting about one percent of U.S. children) and sex offenders.   Puberty blockers, however, are known to stunt normal childhood development in children unaffected by precocious puberty.  HHS officials contend that sex reassignment procedures on minors are an unanimously accepted medical practice.  HHS Secretary Becerra testified before Congress that “every major medical association,” “medical journals,” and “scientific and medical evidence” has demonstrated the benefits of transitioning children’s biological sex.  When asked, via a Freedom of Information Act request, for the underlying scientific or medical basis for its position, HHS was only able to produce a two-page brochure that was already publicly available.  In contrast to HHS, a growing body of literature from medical experts and authorities around the world, including those in Europe, caution against performing such procedures on minors.   Courts and government health agencies responsible for determining child welfare have sought to limit child sex reassignment procedures.   Other countries have banned these interventions and surgeries on minors altogether.  An article published in the British Journal of Medicine found “there is great uncertainty about the effects of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries in young people.”   A court in the United Kingdom noted the obvious about administering puberty blocking chemicals onto children: “[i]t is highly unlikely that a child aged 13 or under would be competent to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers. It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers.”  In April 2024, the Cass Review , an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, commissioned by the National Health Service England, found “[w]hile a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.”   The Cass Review also found that “[t]he rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health,” as well as unknown effects on cognitive and psychosexual development.  In August 2024, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) became the first major U.S. medical association to express caution on the use of gender surgery for gender dysphoria in adolescents. In its formal statement, the association stated: “ASPS currently understands that there is considerable uncertainty as to the long-term efficacy for the use of chest and genital surgical interventions for the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria, and the existing evidence base is viewed as low quality/low certainty. This patient population requires specific considerations.”   The letter was signed by Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL).  CLICK HERE to read the letter.