Congressional committees have held hearings recently on various health policy issues, including:

• Energy and Commerce Committee hearings on CMS implementation of the Medicare physician fee schedule reform provisions included in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), financing and delivery of long-term care, and the public health response to the Zika virus.
• A Ways and Means Committee hearing on “Preserving and Strengthening Medicare.”
• A Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on prescription drug pricing.
• A Senate Finance Committee hearing on HealthCare.gov operation and enrollment issues.
• A Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the ACA Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan program.

Looking ahead, on March 22 the House Oversight Committee is holding a hearing on health information technology challenges. Also on March 22, the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on H.R. 4771, the “HEALTH Act of 2016,” which would reform health care liability laws [this markup was subsequently postponed]. On March 23, the Energy and Commerce Committee will convene a “Conversation on Child Cures” panel discussion to hear firsthand the perspective of children and teens battling disease.