On July 22, 2026, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held an executive session to consider health care legislation including three bills aimed at increasing price transparency and improving workforce shortages. Those bills were batched together and were agreed to, as amended, by a roll call vote of 21-1, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voting no. Please see below for a description of each of those bills, any notable discussion, and amendments considered.
OPENING STATEMENTS
SELECT LEGISLATION ADVANCED IN THE MARKUP
S. 2355, Patients Deserve Price Tags Act (Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH)), to enforce health care price transparency by requiring hospitals, labs, and surgical centers to publish upfront, actual dollar amounts for services.
- Sen. Paul shared his view that the problem is that prices are fixed by insurers (either government or private) and simply publicizing prices won’t change them.
S. 4110, EMPOWER for Health Act (Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)), to reauthorize Title VII health professions workforce development programs through FY2030 to address medical provider shortages and diversify the health care workforce.
- Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) offered an amendment to give the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) the authority to create a federal nursing data collection center.
- The amendment passed by voice vote.
S. 1847, Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)) to reauthorize HRSA nursing education through federal funding and expanded access to clinical training in underserved areas.
- Sen. Blunt Rochester offered an amendment to establish a state and regional nursing workforce center data collection pilot program.
- The amendment passed, with Sen. Paul recorded as nay.
- Sen. Murkowski offered an amendment to provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing school faculty members.
- The amendment passed, with Sen. Paul and Sen. Alan Armstrong (R-OK) recorded as nay.
