Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, announced a hearing titled Legislative Proposals to Support Patient Access to Medicare Services.

Subcommittee on Health hearing titled Legislative Proposals to Support Patient Access to Medicare Services

WHAT: Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss legislation focused on improving Medicare payment policies and expanding access to care for seniors.

DATE: Thursday, January 8, 2026

TIME: 10:15 AM ET

LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

This hearing will focus on the following bills:

• H.R. 1703, Choices for Increased Mobility Act of 2025 (Rep. Joyce – PA)
• H.R. 2005, DMEPOS Relief Act of 2025 (Rep. Miller-Meeks)
• H.R. 2172, Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act (Rep. Buchanan)
• H.R. 2477, Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act of 2025 (Rep. Van Duyne)
• H.R. 2902, Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act of 2025 (Rep. Valadao)
• H.R. 5243, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase data transparency for supplemental benefits under Medicare Advantage. (Rep. McClellan)
• H.R. 5269, Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act of 2025 (Rep. Hudson)
• H.R. 5347, Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act (Rep. Buchanan)
• H.R. 6210, Senior Savings Protection Act (Rep. Matsui)
• H.R. 6361, Ban AI Denials in Medicare Act (Rep. Landsman)

This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. This hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed at energycommerce.house.gov. If you have any questions about this hearing, please contact Annabelle Huffman at Annabelle.Huffman@mail.house.gov. If you have any press related questions, please contact Katie West at Katie.West@mail.house.gov.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, issued the following statement applauding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recent announcement of funding allocations for states through the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program, which was established in President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts.

“Our Working Families Tax Cuts law delivered the most historic investment in rural health that we’ve seen in our lifetimes,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Griffith.“The RHT program will provide funding to transform health care systems so that we can help assure the long-term sustainability of our rural providers for years to come. We applaud Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz on this critical effort, and we look forward to seeing states use these resources to bolster health care delivery through innovative solutions in rural America.”

Allocations of funding were based upon rigorous, data-driven merit review—led by federal and non-federal rural health experts and overseen by senior federal review directors—to assess each state’s proposed initiatives and alignment with program goals to ensure a fair, transparent, and consistent merit review process across all states.

Funding will be distributed over five years beginning in federal fiscal year 2026. As states begin implementation, program officers from CMS’s Office of Rural Health Transformation will provide technical assistance and ongoing support to help states design, launch, and sustain initiatives that best serve their rural communities.

CLICK HERE to view a list of each State’s allocated RHT funds.

Background on the Rural Health Transformation Program:

• The Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program was created by the Working Families Tax Cuts law and empowers states to strengthen rural communities across America by improving access to quality health care outcomes and transforming the health care delivery ecosystem.

• RHT funding will be allocated through the following formula:

• $25 billion over five years will be distributed evenly among the states; this means each state will receive $100 million each year for FY 2026-2030 ($500 million total).

• $25 billion will be distributed to states based on criteria established by the Secretary that target funding to states with high rural health care needs and that outline long-term programmatic goals that will transform access to care in the state.

In accordance with the law, only the 50 states are eligible to receive an RHT Program award; the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories are not eligible.

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.  – 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.