Rep. Morgan Griffith

R

Virginia – District 9
representative

Leadership

Chairman Health

119th Congress

News & Announcements

Feb 4, 2026
Health

Chairmen Guthrie and Griffith Announce Second Hearing in Series to Improve Health Care Affordability for All Americans

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 Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the Prescription Drug Supply Chain.

“This marks the second hearing in our health care affordability series, confirming Republicans’ commitment to meaningfully lowering the cost of care for American families,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Griffith. “After hearing big insurance companies pledge to do more for American patients, we are continuing our commitment to the American people by calling in representatives across the entire prescription drug supply chain—pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and providers—to examine the root drivers of prescription drug costs and ways to keep them both accessible and affordable. We look forward to hearing from the panelists on potential solutions to lower the cost of care for all Americans.”

Subcommittee on Health hearing titled Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the Prescription Drug Supply Chain.

WHAT: Subcommittee on Health hearing on exploring the role that the prescription drug supply chain plays in health care affordability.

DATE: Wednesday, February 11, 2026

TIME: 10:15 AM ET

LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

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 with the Committee staff at Annabelle.Huffman@mail.house.gov. If you have any press-related questions, please contact Katie West at Katie.West@mail.house.gov.

Jan 22, 2026
Health

Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Subcommittee on Health Hearing Examining Health Insurance Affordability

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of Health Insurance Affordability.

Subcommittee Chairman Griffith’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Today we will discuss health care costs and patient access challenges by examining affordability across the entire health insurance marketplace.

“This hearing builds on work Republicans have done this Congress to address health care affordability.

“We plan to have future hearings with other leaders and experts across the health care continuum to understand the root causes of rising health care costs.

“Specifically, this hearing will focus on the role insurers play in the delivery of care.

“The insurance market is dominated by a handful of Fortune 50 corporations that control the majority of the national market.

“In some states, a single insurer may even control 80 or 90 percent of a particular market.

“The biggest health insurers today often manage several facets of the health care supply chain, such as owning the pharmacy benefit managers; the group purchasing organizations; multiple provider groups; and specialty or mail-order pharmacies.

“Even with owning those, complicated benefit designs, narrow networks, prior authorization requirements, and opaque coverage decisions often leave patients feeling like they are paying more for less.

“The market also lacks transparency and is not easily navigable.

“One contributor to health insurance unaffordability for millions of Americans is the so called ‘Affordable Care Act,’ also known as Obamacare, that was signed into law in 2010.

“When Democrats passed Obamacare, without Republican support, they sold the bill on the promises that premiums would fall, competition would rise, and ‘if you like your insurance plan, you will keep it.’

“Instead, Obamacare has increased health care costs, warped incentives, federalized benefits, restricted plan design, and limited access to care.

“Many patients have fewer plan choices than they did before Obamacare was enacted. In fact, a constituent told me recently that his family only has one provider option. Therefore, Obamacare coverage is not translating to patient or taxpayer affordability.

“Unfortunately, employer-sponsored insurance is also becoming unaffordable, and, each year, more American small businesses choose not to offer health insurance because it is too costly.

“This impacts the ability for a small business to be competitive and attract talent.

“We know two things are true:

“Competition is essential for patient access! Lack of competition and consolidation within the insurance marketplace has led us to higher health care costs as a whole.

“The health care system needs to work for patients.

“That means empowering individuals with real choices, transparent prices, and coverage that fits their needs.

“We must strive to have more competitive plan options that reward quality and focus on affordability, access, and outcomes.

“Our discussion today is meant to move beyond politics and spur debate about how we can work toward delivering meaningful, innovative solutions for the Americans that we serve.

“We owe it to patients to get to the root causes of the challenges we see across the health sector, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.”

Jan 22, 2026
Press Release

Health Subcommittee Holds Health Insurance Company CEOs Accountable for Skyrocketing Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, led a hearing titled Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of Health Insurance Affordability, featuring witness testimony from the biggest health insurance plan CEOs in the United States. During the hearing, Committee Republicans held health insurance plans accountable in their role of increasing health care affordability challenges impacting all Americans and discuss how Democrat policy failures in Washington D.C. have warped the American health care system and hurt patients access to high-quality health coverage options.

“Many patients have fewer plan choices than they did before Obamacare was enacted. Therefore, Obamacare coverage is not translating to patient or taxpayer affordability,” said Chairman Griffith. “We owe it to patients to have a health system that offers real choices, transparent prices, and coverage that fits their needs, and I look forward to seeing how today’s conversation presents solutions to make health care more affordable for all Americans.”

Watch the full hearing ** here **.

Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing:

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Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02): “Experts, including the Congressional Budget Office, estimated that the expiration of the temporary Obamacare enhanced COVID Credit is projected to increase premiums by anywhere from 4 percent and 8 percent, depending on the market. Yet, many areas for 2026, insurers requested and were approved for premium increases of 30 percent, 40 percent, even 50 percent. So, Mrs. Boudreaux, you’re in Kentucky. The average Elevance Obamacare plan increased its premium by roughly 24 percent. Despite what Democrats would have the American people believe, the temporary COVID Credit does little to actually lower underlying Obamacare premiums and the American taxpayers are footing the bill. So, Mrs. Boudreaux, by your best estimation—even if the Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits were extended—would Obamacare plan bids in my state of Kentucky increase or decrease between 2026 and 2025?” Mrs. Boudreaux: “Well, thank you very much for the question, Congressman. You know, as we’ve shared, premiums reflect the underlying costs...” Chairman Guthrie: “So, they would have increased, right?”

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Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13): “Since the passage of the ACA, we have seen costs across all markets continue to increase. One of the key issues driving this is the medical loss ratio, or the MLR, that requires plans to spend either 80 percent or 85 percent of your premium dollars on health care expenses. The MLR created multiple perverse incentives for insurance companies to dramatically consolidate both vertically and horizontally. The companies that you lead today are not just involved in insurance. You own PBMs, you own specialty pharmacies, you own retail pharmacies, you own GPOs, you own physician groups and practices. In some cases, you own hospitals, and you own drug manufacturing companies. And at least one of you owns a bank! This has led to alleged cases of self-dealing, as your companies work to circumvent the [multi-level marketing] requirements.”

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Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01): “The largest PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum—have created rebate contracting entities, or PBM group purchasing organizations, which are adding to the complex and opaque nature of the medicine supply chain. My first PBM reform bill on transparency was in 2019, as an Iowa state senator. PBMs claim these entities provide them and their clients with greater bargaining power to lower costs, but recent investigations by Members of Congress, industry experts, state attorneys general, and federal oversight agencies suggest the opposite may be true. We have a graph up here. Let’s start with the left. The drugmaker pays rebates directly to the PBMs and PBM GPOs to ensure their drugs are included on their health plan formularies—meaning the drugs are covered by insurance. Then, these PBMs and their PBM GPO subsidiaries collect the rebates, which they promise to pass through to their patients and health plans. Can any of you tell me what percentage of rebates are passed through to the patient, who is paying a higher drug cost because the rebates are added to the price of the drug?” Top Health Insurers: “...” Congresswoman Miller-Meeks: “Is it zero?” Top Health Insurers: “...” Congresswoman Miller-Meeks: “You don’t even know that you’re not giving these patients back a rebate for paying higher drug prices.”

Letters

Jan 13, 2026
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie, Joyce, Griffith, Smith, Schweikert, and Buchanan Ask HHS OIG About Ongoing HHA and Hospice Fraud in Los Angeles County

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-01), Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, and Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-16), Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, authored ** a letter ** to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting a meeting on the concerning evidence detailed in the letter that points to large-scale, ongoing Medicare fraud in Los Angeles County, along with what action is being taken to address the situation.

“The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has an extensive history of digging deeper into matters where program integrity has been compromised. This letter is crucial in our commitment to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health care programs,” said Chairmen Guthrie, Joyce, and Griffith. “Republicans have spent much of this Congress furthering legislation to protect our most vulnerable Americans—especially seniors, but our work is not done. Continued oversight is crucial to uphold the integrity of programs that serve our most vulnerable populations. We applaud the ongoing work being conducted by HHS-OIG in cracking down on the fraud that has occurred, and we look forward to addressing the larger-scale scheme that is draining public resources from Americans who need these services the most.”

“Medicare home health and hospice fraud directly undermines the safety and reliability of care for America’s most vulnerable seniors. Auditors have reported an unprecedented jump in home health and hospice fraud in Los Angeles County, California – including one report showing 112 different hospices located at the same physical address. With $1.2 billion in improper payments in home health claims and the Inspector General reporting $198 million in suspected hospice fraud, Gavin Newsom’s California could just as well be another Minnesota,” said Chairman Smith. “The Ways and Means Committee will not hesitate to use our broad oversight authority to get to the bottom of this and protect taxpayers and vulnerable patients against these bad actors.”

BACKGROUND:

Evidence has strongly suggested large-scale Medicare fraud involving home health agencies (HHA) and hospice agencies in Los Angeles County, California, noting that such practices not only drain public resources but also compromise the quality of care provided to patients, especially those most vulnerable populations.

  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that the 2023 improper payment error rate for home health claims was 7.7 percent, or about $1.2 billion, in 2023.
  • In terms of hospice care, HHS OIG reported suspected hospice fraud to be an estimated $198.1 million in fiscal year (FY) 2023.
  • CMS has placed HHAs as an area of high risk for Medicare fraud.

Emerging concerns over Medicare fraud in the HHAs and hospice sector highlights heightened activity, specifically in Los Angeles County.

  • From 2019 through June 2023, HHAs in the U.S. decreased from 8,838 to 8,280 (6 percent), while, at the same time, HHAs in Los Angeles County increased from 896 to 1,309 (46 percent).
  • More than 1,400 new Los Angeles County HHAs enrolled in Medicare in the last five years, representing over 50 percent of all HHAs in the state of California and nearly 14 percent of all HHAs in the country.

Based on data from the March 2022 California State Auditor’s Report and from HHS on hospice ownership, Los Angeles County had more than 31 percent of the hospice agencies in the U.S. in 2022.

  • There were approximately 58 million seniors in the U.S. in 2022, with Los Angeles County having approximately 1.49 million seniors (2.5 percent).
  • The report highlighted indicators that included a “rapid, disproportionate growth in the number of hospice agencies” and “excessive geographic clustering of hospice agencies,” noting that 112 different licensed hospice agencies were located at the same physical address.
  • State auditors in California estimated that hospice agencies in Los Angeles County likely overbilled Medicare by $105 million in 2019.

These accounts of widespread fraud occurring in Los Angeles County’s HHAs and hospice agencies have raised concerns about whether home health and hospice Accrediting Organizations (AO) are effectively examining such organizations at the time of their enrollment in Medicare.

  • In November 2024, CMS issued a Quality, Safety, and Oversight memo to surveyors, reminding them to closely inspect hospices’ Medicare enrollment documents to understand changes in ownership and location, but neglecting to encourage AOs to pursue other commonsense antifraud measures.

In April 2025, HHS OIG announced that the Office of Audit Services would compile a report for FY 2026 to identify trends, patterns, and comparisons that could indicate potential vulnerabilities related to new Medicare hospice provider enrollments.

In May 2025, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force—a joint task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including HHS OIG—** announced multiple arrests ** following a multi-year investigation into Armenian Organized Crime, which dismantled five hospices in the greater Los Angeles area.

On November 28, 2025, CMS ** announced ** the Calendar Year 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System Final Rule, providing comments that suggest an interest in addressing the aforementioned accounts of fraud.

Apr 11, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie, Palmer, and Griffith Investigate Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Grant Recipients

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, wrote letters to eight Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) grant recipients. “The Committee has had concerns about the GGRF program—including the program’s unusual structure and a potential lack of due diligence in selecting award recipients. A recent Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing examined these issues and the speed with which money was pushed out the door by the Biden Administration’s EPA, which raised additional questions about certain GGRF recipients.” said Chairmen Guthrie, Palmer, and Griffith. “ This investigation is key to evaluating whether these funds were awarded fairly and impartially to qualified applicants and determining how the federal funds are being used.” Background:  The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create and implement a $27 billion GGRF program. Of this appropriation, $20 billion was awarded to just eight grant recipients; with $14 billion awarded to three grant recipients under the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) program and $6 billion awarded to five grant recipients under the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program.    Letters: National Clean Investment Fund Program Recipients Coalition for Green Capital Climate United Fund Power Forward Communities   Clean Communities Investment Accelerator Program Recipients Justice Climate Fund Opportunity Finance Network Inclusiv Native CDFI Network Appalachian Community Capital Read the story here . ###

Dec 19, 2024
Press Release

E&C Republicans Request HHS Watchdog Investigate Promotion of Gender Transition Procedures for Children

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.