Several Congressional hearings are scheduled next week and into December on health policy issues, including:

  • A November 17 Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled “Physician Owned Distributors: Are They Harmful to Patients and Payers?
  • A November 17 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform hearing on “The State of Competition in the Pharmacy Benefit Manager and Pharmacy Marketplaces.”
  • A November 17 House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on the regulation of diagnostic tests and laboratory operations.
  • A November 17 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf to be serve as FDA Commissioner. The Committee also has scheduled a November 18 meeting to vote on HR 2820, Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015, and S 1719, Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2015.
  • A November 19 Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on S. Public Health Preparedness for Seasonal Influenza: Has the Response Improved?

In addition, the Senate Special Committee on Aging has tentatively scheduled a December 9 hearing on pharmaceutical drug pricing in connection with the Committee’s recently-announced examination of drug price increases, pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions, and FDA drug regulation.