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Key Republican senators who shape health care, taxes and the budget

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Key Republican senators who shape health care, taxes and the budget

WASHINGTON — With Republicans taking control of the Senate in January, a new cast of lawmakers will gain power and influence over health care policy.

The Republican Party will have at least 51 seats in the House next year, after defeating Democratic Sherrod Brown in Ohio and winning the seat left open by Joe Manchin in West Virginia. Republicans also fended off challengers in states such as Nebraska and Texas.

Republican lawmakers will chair plum committees, which have the ability to schedule hearings, amend legislation, conduct investigations and hold subpoena votes. Their offices will also have more staff and resources to carry out their visions.

The Senate has been under Democratic control for the past four years, so newly empowered committee chairs will have a larger platform to advance their policy initiatives.

The Republican victory in the Senate also makes the race to replace Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) more important, because the caucus leader will determine what legislation gets voted on in the Senate and will have a more influential influence . negotiating partner of the House and the White House on major legislation.

Congress will face a number of major health care issues next year, including deciding whether to extend the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies, which expire at the end of 2025.

STAT selected six lawmakers who will be poised for influence in health care when Republicans take power in early January.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Cassidy is the heir apparent to lead the Senate Health Committee, having been the top Republican on the panel this Congress.

Cassidy has expressed interest in reforming public health agencies, including NIH and CDC, which he would oversee under the health commission’s jurisdiction.

As chairman, Cassidy will also lead the confirmation process for the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the director of the National Institutes of Health and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This administration will see the first Senate-confirmed CDC director, as the requirement was recently added in pandemic preparedness legislation.

Cassidy has taken an interest in drug pricing, particularly how expensive gene therapies can be paid for. He has also joined Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) on a Medicare hospital payment reform bill that would equalize payment between hospital outpatient clinics and physician practices for the same services.

Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)

It’s finally Crapo’s time to shine after four years of playing second fiddle on the Senate Finance Committee. As a tax attorney, he will play a key role in dealing with the expiration of Trump’s tax cuts next year, as well as the expiring premium subsidies from the Affordable Care Act.

Crapo showed during his time with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that the pair can negotiate major bipartisan health care packages, such as the pharmacy benefits committee’s major reform legislation this Congress.

Senator John Thune (RS.D.)

Thune, the current Senate minority whip, is being promoted after McConnell retires as second-in-command of the conference and announced his intention to run for Senate majority leader. Thune serves on the Senate Finance Committee and has led several efforts this Congress to pass bipartisan health care legislation.

Over the past two years, he has joined efforts to streamline prior authorization. joined a working group to reform the way physicians are paid, and worked together to develop draft legislation to reform the 340B drug discount program. The efforts could indicate which health issues would be most important to him in the future.

Thune represents South Dakota, so expect rural health care and supporting rural hospitals to be a top priority for him.

Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas)

The other John running for the top spot in the Senate Republican conference is Cornyn, who has experience as the Republican party’s vote-counting leader and has shown a sophisticated interest in patent reform in the pharmaceutical industry.

Cornyn holds positions on both the Finance and Judiciary committees, which have been involved in drug pricing debates in recent years. Cornyn championed a drug patent reform bill aimed at curbing the patent crop that drug makers use to keep generics off the market, and it passed the Senate unanimously earlier this year — although it was significantly watered down from of its original form.

Being from a border state, Cornyn has been working on it tackle the opioid crisis by supporting policies to decriminalize fentanyl test strips and stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.)

Although he is not qualified to lead a health committee, Marshall has proven he is willing to be an independent thinker and bipartisan dealmaker.

The best example of his openness and interest in health care was when he worked on legislation with Senate Health Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). to better finance primary care. While that particular legislation didn’t make any progress, it certainly raised a few eyebrows.

As an obstetrician, he also has credibility in the Senate when it comes to health care issues. The header on his website lists his name as “Doc Marshall.” He also worked with Thune, whose star could be rising, on legislation streamlining prior consent processes.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)

Blackburn is another senator willing to forge unexpected partnerships to advance health priorities.

During debates about the pharmacy benefit manager’s policy, she legislation introduced that would have regulated the compensation that PBMs can receive from pharmaceutical companies, and she worked with Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to call for increased oversight of Medicare Advantage plans.

She comes from Tennessee, a state with a significant healthcare presence such as the for-profit hospital giant HCA Healthcare.

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