On April 29, 2025, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a Markup of 6 health care bills. The health care bills focused on a variety of topics including funding for opioid recovery and treatment, research for lung cancer, regulation of human cell and tissue products, and changing the law to allow caregivers to pick up their patient’s medications. All of these bills were advanced to the House floor.
OPENING STATEMENTS
- Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) praised the committee’s efforts to reauthorize and enhance programs addressing substance use disorders, protect seniors’ access to prescription medications, prevent discrimination in organ transplants for individuals with disabilities, and improve safety standards for human cell and tissue products. Guthrie highlighted the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act.
- Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) criticized Republican colleagues for what he described as partisan approaches to health legislation. He expressed concern that certain bills under consideration lacked adequate funding increases and failed to address critical issues such as public health data improvements and medical supply chain vulnerabilities. Pallone emphasized the importance of bipartisan cooperation to effectively support public health initiatives and ensure comprehensive preparedness for future health emergencies.
LEGISLATION INCLUDED IN THE MARKUP
- H.R. 2483, SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Reps. Guthrie and Petterson): This bill would reauthorize key parts of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, which was signed into law in 2018. This reauthorization would include public health programs focused on prevention, treatment, and recovery for patients with substance use disorder. Passed 36-13 with amendment.
- H.R. 1520, Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act (Reps. Cammack, Dingell, Issa, and Wasserman Schultz): This bill would prohibit health care providers and other entities from denying or restricting an individual’s access to organ transplants solely on the basis of the individual’s disability, except in limited circumstances. Passed 46-1.
- H.R. 2319, Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025 (Reps. Boyle and Fitzpatrick): This bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct an interagency review on the status of, and identify research related to, women and underserved populations with lung cancer. The review would include assessments of current research and access to prevention services, the availability of research opportunities regarding prevention, detection, and treatment, and recommendations for national public education and screening strategies. Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 1669, To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program (Reps. Cohen and Buddy Carter ): This bill would reauthorize the Stop, Observe, and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Training Program for five years. The SOAR to Health and Wellness Act was originally signed into law in 2018 and authorizes resources to help build capacity in local communities to identify and respond to the various needs of individuals who have experienced trafficking. Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 1082, Shandra Eisenga Human Cell and Tissue Product Safety Act (Reps. Moolenaar and Dingell): This bill would require the Secretary of HHS to conduct a national education campaign to increase public and health care provider awareness regarding the potential risks and benefits of human cell and tissue product transplants. It would also direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take additional steps to streamline regulatory oversight of human cell and tissue products, including by publishing educational materials, best practices, and other relevant information related to FDA’s Tissue Reference Group, as well as by conducting workshops and other educational sessions for relevant stakeholders and establish a public docket for related comments. Lastly, the bill would require the Secretary of HHS to report to Congress with recommendations for modernizing the regulation of human cell and tissue products. Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 2484, Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act (Reps. Harshbarger and Wasserman Schultz): This bill would amend the physician self-referral law to permit Medicare patients to receive prescription drugs through caregivers picking up drugs on the patient’s behalf, through the mail, or by couriers delivering the drug to the patient in instances when a provider prescribes a drug to be dispensed by a pharmacy that falls under the self-referral law’s definition of an in office ancillary service. Current law prohibits such arrangements for Medicare beneficiaries. The amendments made by this bill would be implemented on January 1, 2026, and sunset on December 31, 2030. Passed 38-7.