HHS to Establish New Healthcare Advisory Committee/Seeks Applicants – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the establishment of the new Healthcare Advisory Committee last week. The Committee will be charged with making recommendations directly to the HHS Secretary on improving how care is financed and delivered across Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Health Insurance Marketplace. “This is a moment for action,” said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD. “This committee will help us cut waste, reduce paperwork, expand preventive care, and modernize CMS programs with real-time data and accountability, all while keeping patients at the center. We are calling on experts across the country to join us in this effort to help us Make America Healthy Again.” The administration is inviting individuals with expertise in chronic disease prevention and management, federally administered health care financing, and delivery system reform to apply to serve on the committee by September 22. According to HHS, the new panel will focus on:
- Actionable policy initiatives to promote chronic disease prevention and management;
- Opportunities for a regulatory framework of accountability for safety and outcomes that reduces unnecessary red tape and allows providers to focus on improving patient health;
- Levers to advance a real-time data system, enabling a new standard of excellence in care, rapid claims processing, rapid quality measurement, and rewards;
- Structural opportunities to improve quality for the most vulnerable in the Medicaid program; and
- Sustainability of the Medicare Advantage program, identifying opportunities to modernize risk adjustment and quality measures to assess and improve health outcomes.
Texas’ Doggett, Roy Announce Retirements from Congress – Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) announced last week that he will not seek reelection in 2026 if Republicans in the Texas state legislature proceed with their plans to redistrict. Doggett would face Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) in the race for the state’s 35th Congressional District under the redrawn map. Doggett, 78, has served in the House of Representatives since 1995 and currently serves as Ways and Means Health Subcommittee ranking member. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has launched a bid for Texas attorney general. Roy, a prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus, has served in Congress since 2019. He is a member of the Judiciary, Rules, and Budget committees.
New Analysis Details HHS Reductions in Force – A new analysis from ProPublica examining cuts to federal health agencies found that over 20,500 HHS employees or 18% of the HHS workforce – have been lost since January. This includes 15% of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 16% of staff at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 21% of staff at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The report further details cuts to FDA regulators, vaccine regulators, CDC scientists, chronic disease experts, NIH research staff, and infectious diseases researchers.
Ranking Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee Bobby Scott (D-Va.) sent a letter to Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) on Wednesday to follow up on a previous request for an oversight hearing on the administration’s proposed HHS reorganization and related layoffs at the Department. “We have not yet received comprehensive information from HHS regarding the impacts of the proposed reorganization and the reductions in force undertaken by the Department,” Rep. Scott wrote. “These actions threaten the core functions of essential programs.”
HHS Launches New MAHA Website – HHS has launched a new webpage to track the Trump administration’s progress on the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda. The online tool specifically highlights actions taken by HHS related to the first MAHA report, petroleum-based food dyes, Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) standards, Operation Stork Speed, the cause of autism, trust in vaccine safety, dietary guidelines, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reform, and efforts to bring radical transparency to the department. The website also includes an interactive map of new MAHA aligned state policies along with details on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s tour across the nation.
Recently Introduced Health Legislation
H.Res.656 — Condemning the tragic act of gun violence on July 28, 2025, in New York City that led to one of the deadliest mass shootings in the city’s history, and calling for stronger, comprehensive Federal action to prevent gun violence nationwide; Sponsor: Goldman, Daniel S. [Rep.-D-NY-10]; Committees: House – Oversight and Government Reform
H.Res.657 — Affirming the President’s promise not to raise the Social Security and Medicare retirement age; Sponsor: Kaptur, Marcy [Rep.-D-OH-9]; Committees: House – Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce
H.R.4977 —To identify and address barriers to coverage of remote physiologic devices under State Medicaid programs to improve maternal and child health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women. Sponsor: Frankel, Lois [Rep.-D-FL-22]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.4979 — To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to award grants to States to implement a tick identification pilot program; Sponsor: Gottheimer, Josh [Rep.-D-NJ-5]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.4980 — To establish a comprehensive national vector-borne disease prevention system; Sponsor: Gottheimer, Josh [Rep.-D-NJ-5]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.4981 — To provide for the issuance of a Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp; Sponsor: Gottheimer, Josh [Rep.-D-NJ-5]; Committees: House – Oversight and Government Reform; Energy and Commerce
H.R.4991 — To prohibit the disposition of a firearm to, and the possession of a firearm by, an adult who, while a juvenile who had attained 15 years of age but not 18 years of age, committed an offense that would have been a felony if committed by an adult; Sponsor: Van Duyne, Beth [Rep.-R-TX-24]; Committees: House – Judiciary
H.R.4993 — Joe Fiandra Access to Home Infusion Act of 2025; Sponsor: Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [Rep.-R-PA-1]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means
H.R.5003 — Equal Treatment of the District of Columbia Under the Rural Health Transformation Program Act of 2025; Sponsor: Norton, Eleanor Holmes [Del.-D-DC-At Large]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce