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We recently welcomed Katie Meadows as Associate. We sat down with Katie to talk about her background, what she thinks are the biggest challenges in health policy right now, and how her skills and experience will be an asset to our clients.
Tell us a little about your background and how that background prepares you for this new role.
I’m a proud double Hoya with an MS in Health and the Public Interest and BS in Human Science and Public Health, both from Georgetown University. While completing my degrees, I interned at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and volunteered with a student-run health and science advocacy organization. These experiences gave me the chance to explore federal policy from multiple angles and gain experience working to accomplish shared goals. In my new role, I hope to leverage these skills and experiences to support the needs of Chamber Hill Strategies’ clients.
What drew you to join a government affairs firm with a health care focus?
I wanted to find a workplace that would enable me to explore many areas of health care policy and gain applicable experience. I was drawn to Chamber Hill Strategies due to the firm’s bipartisan focus and broad reach in areas such as Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, rural health, and the health care workforce. Working for a firm with such a diverse group of clients will allow me to build a strong professional foundation.
What are the core areas of health care policy you’re most passionate about or experienced in?
One area of health care policy that I am very passionate about is mental health and well-being, especially for children and adolescents. While there has been a growing focus on the area, there are more steps to be taken to ensure that children receive the care they need. I am interested in gaining experience in the current health insurance landscape so I can better assist clients in navigating this space.
What do you see as the biggest challenges (and opportunities) in health care policy right now?
Some of the biggest challenges that I currently see in health care policy are ensuring access to quality care and addressing the growing health care workforce crisis. Many communities, such as those in rural or underserved areas, continue to face barriers to care due to high costs, hospital closures, provider shortages, and limited access to services. At the same time, many providers are experiencing high patient loads, burnout, and system-wide staffing shortages. These issues, both separately and combined, impact the timeliness of care and create roadblocks to improved population health.
What will your role at the firm entail — what are you looking forward to doing here?
I currently produce the firm’s daily health care policy report, PolicyCrush, along with the weekly report on upcoming events. I also analyze policy both in legislation and regulation. I am looking forward to gaining experience and learning from my colleagues at Chamber Hill Strategies. The mentorship that I have already received has been invaluable. I am excited to continue to grow in my role and continue supporting the firm’s work on behalf of our clients.
How do you like to approach problem-solving in complex policy settings?
For complex issues, I think it is important to understand how different parties are approaching the problem and what their goals are. From there, I try to find commonalities between the different approaches to foster discussion on finding a shared way forward.
Outside of work, what motivates you or keeps you energized?
I love spending time with my friends and family, exploring all DC has to offer. Whether it is finding new coffee shops and restaurants to try or visiting the Smithsonian museums, I enjoy taking the time to connect with the people and world around me.
What else should your colleagues or clients know about you?
I am always looking for new book recommendations, both insightful and fun, as I find reading a good way to relax and escape for a bit while still learning. I also love to travel and explore new countries, especially trying local foods.
Do you have any book or travel recommendations for us?
One book I recently read was Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, an author I grew up reading. I enjoyed seeing a new side of his writing and the way he highlighted a longstanding global health challenge. In terms of travel, one of my favorite cities I recently visited is Florence, Italy. I would love the chance to visit again.
On October 23, 2025, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing to examine the 340B Program’s growth and impact on patients. The members heard testimony on how the program functions as well as some current challenges that have been identified. There was strong bipartisan support for the continuation of the program, but there were also calls from both sides of the aisle for careful regulations to ensure the program’s continuing success.
Opening Statements
Witness Testimony
- Michelle Rosenberg, Director, Health Care, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)– Testimony
- Dr. Aditi Sen, Chief, Health Policy Studies Unit, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – Testimony
- William B. Feldman, Physician and Health Policy Researcher, University of California, Los Angeles – Testimony
Member Discussion
The most common line of questioning from members, including Sen. Tuberville (R-AL), Sen. Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Kim (D-NJ), Sen. Collins (R-ME), and Sen. Banks (R-IN), was regarding how 340B Program facilities use the savings from the program in their operating budgets. Ms. Rosenberg responded each time that there are no specific requirements in the program on how to use the funds, and Dr. Sen elaborated that the CBO does not have the data required to have a full understanding of how different entities are using the funds. Sen. Hassan (D-NH) suggested that reporting requirements for revenue generated by the program could increase transparency and guide future regulations on its use.
Sen. Baldwin (D-WI), who is a member of a bipartisan 340B working group, raised concerns about the new 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program, which requires program participants to purchase pharmaceuticals at market price and receive a rebate later, creating greater upfront costs. Dr. Feldman shared these concerns and suggested a 3rd party clearing house could be a solution to ensure that pharmaceutical companies and health care providers are able to reach equitable agreements.
Sen. Marshall (R-KS) suggested that creating a definition of a patient under the program, considering factors such as recency or frequency of visits, could aid in regulating eligibility requirements. Dr. Sen agreed but cautioned that any narrowing of the definition would have implications that would need to be understood.
When asked by Sen. Kaine (D-VA) and Sen. Baldwin about recommendations for 340B program reforms, Ms. Rosenberg suggested the 15 recommendations GAO previously made to HRSA, through reports on June, 28 2018, January 10, 2020, and January 27, 2020, that have not been implemented. These include addressing duplicate discount policies, more auditing of contracts and hospital systems, and more data collection on cost savings and use. Sen Hickenlooper (D-CO) continued this line of questioning with the need for more HRSA oversight, which requires authorization to impose regulations and staffing levels to uphold them.
Sen. Kim, Sen. Murray (D-CT), Sen. Markey (D-MA), and Sen. Alsobrooks (D-MD) all discussed how stretched 340B hospital systems’ budgets are, and they raised concerns about how policy decisions such as not renewing advance premium tax credits (APTCs) could make things worse. Dr. Feldman agreed and stressed that any increase in the uninsured population would lead to providing more uncompensated care and a larger burden on the providers in those systems. Sen. Collins and Sen. Murkowski were concerned that regulations limiting 340B hospitals would have a disproportionate impact on rural hospitals that rely more heavily on the 340B program to provide care to their patients.
On October 22, 2025, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on how shoppable health services can improve outcomes and lower costs. Committee members heard testimony on different ways to reduce costs, especially for older Americans.
Witness TestimonyÂ
- Mark Cuban, Co-Founder, Cost Plus Drugs – Testimony
- G. Keith Smith, Co-Founder, Surgery Center of Oklahoma and the Free Market Medical Association – Testimony
- Don Moulds, Chief Health Director, CalPERS – TestimonyJeanne Lambrew, Director of Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation – Testimony
Member Discussion
Prescription Drugs and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)
One major topic of discussion was ways to address the high cost of prescription drugs. Sen. Tuberville (R-AL) asked how direct-to-patient programs, like Cost Plus Drugs save patients money. Mr. Cuban responded by saying that these companies build trust with patients through transparent pricing and can charge less as there are no intermediaries.
There was bipartisan interest in addressing concerns about PBMs. Sen Husted (R-OH) mentioned his concerns about a lack of competition if insurance companies are able to create monopolies by owning PBMs and pharmacies. He also noted his concerns that this would further increase price and push smaller independent providers out of business. Sen. Warren (D-MA) expanded on this line of questioning through the discussion of the Department of Defense TRICARE provider, Cigna, who also owns PBM Express Scripts, as well as specialty pharmacy Accredo. She noted her concern that this enables Express Scripts to highly encourage patients to use Accredo and reimburse other pharmacies at lower rates causing independent practices to go out of business.
Sen. Justice (R-WV) mentioned mimicking state legislation that passes the PBM cost savings onto patients as a way to respond to large profits by PBMs.
Pricing Transparency
Multiple senators, including Sen. Tuberville, Sen. Marshall (R-KS), and Sen. Moody (R-FL), questioned whether publishing prices encouraged patients to shop for care. Dr. Smith testified that his clinic often serves out-of-state and out-of-country patients due to their low prices. Patients were also able to use his clinic’s publicly posted prices to negotiate with their local hospital systems and price match.
Chairman Scott (R-FL) and Ranking Member Gillibrand (D-NY) were curious about the logistics of reference-based pricing in the CalPERS system and how competition between hospital systems can be beneficial. Dr. Moulds emphasized that due to CalPERS’ size, they had more power than smaller systems but still faced price differentials between geographic areas that had greater amounts of providers and smaller amounts of providers. Dr. Moulds was also frank that not all health services can be referenced-based, and that CalPERS makes decisions on how to balance encouraging members to receive care with the potential cost of care.
Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC)
Sen. Gillibrand was the first of many members, including Sen. Warnock (D-GA) and Sen. Kelly (D-AZ), to highlight the increased premium costs due to the expiration of APTCs. Concerns were raised about the affordability of health insurance and how the 55-65 aged community will respond to the increased price. Dr. Lambrew emphasized that adults aged 55-65 will be the most affected by the rise in premium costs due to their reliance on the health care marketplace and their greater need to receive care. Dr. Lambrew and Mr. Cuban agreed that many will forgo health insurance to pay for other expenses.
Sen. Johnson (R-WI) pressed Dr. Lambrew on the design of the Affordable Care Act and the continued growth in health care costs. Dr. Lambrew maintained the position that although the tax credits were not part of the original design of the ACA, they were an improvement that should be continued.
On September 17, 2025, the House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) marked up five bills related to various health care issues, including legislation to reauthorize rural health, telehealth, and pediatric rare disease drug development programs. Although the bills marked up enjoyed bipartisan support, Democratic members expressed disappointment that the markup did not include legislation passed out of the E&C Health Subcommittee on September 11 related to reauthorization of health care workforce and newborn screening programs. Democratic members also criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s provisions related to Medicaid and urged the Committee to pass a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded tax credits. Democratic members called for the committee to conduct oversight on several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) actions, including the firing of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the cutting of federal research funding, the reductions in force at HHS, and changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2) stated that he was willing to consider such requests but did not commit to a specific timeline for future hearings.
Opening Statements
Health Care Legislation Marked Up
- H.R. 2493, Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Rep. Buddy Carter, R-GA-1), a bill to reauthorize grant programs for rural health care services outreach, rural health network development, and small health care provider improvement through Fiscal Year 2030.
- Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA-1), Kim Schrier (D-WA-8), and Troy Carter (D-LA-2) expressed support for the bill. However, Rep. Schrier criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for Medicaid cuts and criticized the Rural Health Transformation Fund as being overly focused on the “Make America Healthy Again agenda. Rep. Troy Carter also brought up his disappointment that legislation related to health workforce program reauthorization was not included in the markup.
- Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) offered an amendment to insert a permanent extension of ACA tax credits into H.R. 2493, which numerous Democratic members voiced support for. Republicans countered that it was the Inflation Reduction Act that set the ACA expanded tax credit expiration date and that this issue is not within E&C’s jurisdiction. Rep. Guthrie noted that conversations are underway regarding possible next steps related to the tax credits, but that H.R. 2493 is not the bill to extend the tax credits. This amendment was withdrawn.
- Final vote tally for H.R. 2493: Passed 49-0.
- H.R. 3419 (Rep. David Valadao, R-CA-22), a bill to reauthorize the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs through Fiscal Year 2030.
- Final vote tally for H.R. 3419: Passed 48-0.
- H.R. 2846, (Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-PA-6), a bill to amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to include as an additional right or privilege of commissioned officers of the Public Health Service (and their beneficiaries) certain leave provided under title 10, United States Code to commissioned officers of the Army (or their beneficiaries).
- Final vote tally for H.R. 2846: Passed 46-0.
- H.R. 1262, Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 (Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX-10), a bill to expand the FDA’s authority with respect to research on rare pediatric diseases, including by permitting the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to satisfy pediatric study requirements and by reauthorizing programs that support pediatric research.
- Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL-2) offered an amendment to add H.R. 1843, a bill to increase transparency in generic drug applications, to H.R. 1262. This amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
- Rep. Castor offered an amendment to add language to H.R. 1262 that would prevent any modifications from being made to the CDC’s Adult and Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedules in effect on May 26, 2025, that would result in a reduction to no-cost coverage of vaccines. Other Democratic members expressed support for the amendment, but Republican members questioned the amendment’s germaneness. This amendment was withdrawn.
- Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO-1) offered an amendment to add the health care extenders from the December 2024 year-end agreement in H.R. 1262. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9) noted that even though he is willing to work on these extenders, he did not support this amendment because of concerns about germaneness and that some of the extenders have moved separately. This amendment was withdrawn.
- Final vote tally for H.R. 1262: Passed 47-0 as amended.
- H.R. 3302, Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY-14), a bill to reauthorize the Healthy Start Initiative through Fiscal Year 2030.
- Final vote tally for H.R. 3302: Passed 49-0.