A number of Congressional committees have held hearings recently on health policy issues, including the following:
- A House Energy and Commerce Health hearing entitled “Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?”;
- A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law hearing on “Your Health and Your Privacy: Protecting Health Information in a Digital World”;
- A Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on Assisted Living Quality and Oversight; and
- A Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on “Improving Quality, Lowering Costs: The Role of Health Care Delivery System Reform.”
A number of additional hearings and markups have been scheduled, including:
- A November 15 Senate HELP Committee hearing on “Medical Devices: Protecting Patients and Promoting Innovation”;
- A November 15 House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee hearing on the ACA’s small business health insurance tax credit;
- A December 6, 2011 Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on the proposed Express Scripts/Medco merger; and
- An Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee markup of H.R. 1173, the “Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011,” which would repeal the ACA’s Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.