Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Congressman Colin Allred (TX-32) led a letter with 10 of their colleagues to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging him to consider Texas as the location for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).  Congress created ARPA-H to improve the U.S. government’s ability to… Read more »

Today, two of Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher’s (TX-07) bills, H.R. 7679 and H.R. 5218, passed the Energy and Commerce Committee, moving one step closer to becoming law.  H.R. 7679 is a bill to improve and develop pediatric medical devices by reauthorizing the Pediatric Device Consortia (PDC) grant program and allow profits for certain Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) devices. … Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) led a letter, which 98 of their colleagues joined, to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to urge the immediate enforcement of Medicaid’s free choice of provider requirement, after states like Texas and Missouri excluded qualified providers from their Medicaid programs in violation of… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 7679, to help further development of pediatric medical devices by reauthorizing the Pediatric Device Consortia (PDC) grant program and allowing profits for certain Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) devices.  Medical devices for children often lag five to ten… Read more »

Yesterday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra testified before the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on the Fiscal Year 2023 HHS Budget.  During the hearing, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) advocated for Houston’s Texas Medical Center as a potential site for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H) that Congress authorized… Read more »

The New Democrat Coalition endorsed 22 bipartisan mental health care and substance use disorder bills, including Congresswoman Fletcher’s Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, H.R. 5218.  The New Democrat Coalition is the U.S. House of Representatives’ largest Democratic caucus, committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Fletcher participated in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee hearing entitled Communities in Need: Legislation to Support Mental Health and Well-Being, to highlight mental health legislation, including Congresswoman Fletcher’s bipartisan bill, the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner (COCM) Act, H.R. 5218.  “Our mental… Read more »

On Monday, a group of Democratic members of Congress from Texas issued a letter urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to enforce Medicaid’s free choice of provider requirement and require the State of Texas to reinstate Planned Parenthood as a qualified Medicaid provider. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher led her colleagues in issuing the letter, which was signed by Reps. Lloyd… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher led members in the Texas Delegation in a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to urge the enforcement of Medicaid’s free choice of provider requirement and to require the State of Texas to reinstate Planned Parenthood as a qualified Medicaid provider.  “The White House has made clear it… Read more »

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to express support for ongoing discussions between CMS and the Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) community regarding reimbursement for services provided.  MSUs are ambulances with staff that have the expertise to diagnose and the resources to treat… Read more »