What to Expect With Leadership Changes on the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee

Rep. Carter is also running against Sen. Jon Ossoff, which impacted his ability to maintain a subcommittee chairmanship, per committee rules. Shortly after Rep. Carter’s announcement, the chairman of the full House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), announced that Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) would assume the Health Subcommittee Gavel. Rep. Griffith is the former chairman of E&C’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and was chairman of E&C’s Environment Subcommittee at the time of the announcement.

Rep. Carter, a pharmacist who represents Georgia’s first Congressional district, has been a member of the E&C Committee for five terms, and has used his 30-plus-year background as an independent pharmacy owner to advocate for various health care policies, most notably pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform. While his tenure as chairman of the Health Subcommittee was limited, he held hearings on illicit drug threats, the need for PBM reform, the US Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of over-the-counter drugs, domestic manufacturing of health care products, and the US Department of Health and Human Services’ FY2026 budget.

Rep. Griffith, who has represented Virginia’s ninth Congressional district since 2011, is an attorney who practiced law in southwestern Virginia for nearly three decades. Like Rep. Carter, he served in his state’s legislature before being elected to Congress. As chairman of the E&C Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee in the 118th Congress, he held multiple hearings on health-related topics, including origins of COVID-19 and public health reforms, antimicrobial resistance, drug supply chains, physician reimbursement, preserving Medicare and Medicaid, 340B, and others.

Rep. Griffith and Rep. Carter have many shared policy goals in the health care space, which is evident from similar bills they have introduced and cosponsored, topics of hearings they have held, and remarks they have given during hearings and markups. Both Members have stressed the importance of reining in health care middlemen such as PBMs; reforming how Medicare reimburses physicians to ensure seniors have access to quality, low-cost care; supporting policies to promote innovation and domestic manufacturing; transparency; and notably, complementing the Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. Both Members also represent rural districts with many low-income areas, which will likely lead to a continued focus on policies supporting those populations.

A few notable health bills that Rep. Griffith has introduced could indicate areas of focus for the subcommittee.

• H.R.2191 - Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act

  • Allows physicians to own rural hospitals that are more than 35 miles from another hospital.

• H.R.4282 - Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act

  • Bans the use of phone calls with artificial or prerecorded voices (robocalls) as a method of verifying patients’ prescriptions. This stems from both fraud and patient safety concerns.

With Chairman Guthrie also supporting those goals and stressing a team-oriented, collaborative mindset on the committee, members of the health care industry should expect the Health Subcommittee to maintain its direction under Chairman Griffith. This direction is also likely to be influenced by the Trump Administration’s health priorities. In order to maximize the number of bills moved through the Health Subcommittee, Chairman Griffith has also indicated that he may hold night hearings.

Key Takeaways

• Expect the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee’s agenda and focus to largely remain the same. Much of what drives the committee’s agenda comes from “have to” policies, such as having to extend expiring workforce and telehealth programs.

• The Energy and Commerce Committee is very member-driven, meaning that its chairman as well as subcommittee chairs will continue to rely on individual member input for direction.

ArentFox Schiff’s Government Relations practice is closely monitoring policy and leadership changes in Washington, DC. For additional guidance on how the change in leadership may affect your business, please contact your AFS attorney or the author of this alert.