House Budget Committee Republicans advanced a bill along party lines Wednesday (Sept. 25) that would codify the responsibilities of the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisers, reduce the number of members on the panel, and give the House and Senate Budget Committee chairmen and ranking members the same authority as the CBO director to appoint the advisers — a move committee Democrats blasted as an attempt to politicize the panel.
The HEALTH Panel Act (H.R. 9686), introduced last week by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Michael Burgess (R-TX), would formally establish the Panel of Health Advisors to provide technical expertise in health-related areas and enhance the CBO’s analyses, cost estimates and studies on health care issues and policies.
During the markup, both bill sponsors emphasized that CBO’s cost estimates are crucial in determining whether a health care bill can move forward, which underscores the importance of keeping the Panel of Health Advisers nonpartisan.
“Myself, along with other members of this committee, are concerned that the vesting [of] sole appointment authority in one individual [means] the panel is not inclusive of different ideological positions and fails to accurately represent a range of stakeholders with expertise across the health care sector,” Carter said.
Democrats on the committee unanimously opposed and voted against the legislation during Wednesday’s markup. While both parties have plenty of complaints about CBO, Republicans’ political intention is to “cook the books” in how the CBO handles health care issues, according to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).
“Stacking the panel with a number of additional industry representatives will not produce more accurate estimates, and it will certainly politicize one of the few institutions that we can turn to for objective analysis and accountability on our work,” Doggett said during the markup.
This comes two weeks after the Panel of Health Advisers met behind closed doors to discuss multi-cancer screening tests, cell and gene therapies, the long-term budgetary impacts of preventive services and vertical integration in health care markets.
Currently, the Panel of Health Advisers has 22 members, all appointed by the CBO director. However, under the new bill, the panel would be reduced to 15 members, with appointments made by the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Budget Committees along with the CBO director. The legislation specifies that these members must have expertise in fields like health finance, economics, actuarial science or other health-related areas.
Under the legislation, members would serve three-year terms with a limit of two terms, and initial appointments would have staggered terms to ensure continuity. The CBO could also require panel members to disclose potential conflicts of interest and sign confidentiality agreements to protect sensitive government information.
The bill, which now heads for a full House vote, would require the panel to meet at least once a year and produce an annual report on its activities. This report would include recommendations approved by at least nine members, which the CBO director must take into account when conducting cost estimates or studies. The report would also be shared with the Budget committees of both the House and Senate.
CBO Director Phillip Swagel cautioned against legislation giving Congress a larger role in CBO appointments during a House Budget Committee hearing two weeks ago focused on improving CBO. He warned that this type of legislation could introduce political dynamics and undermine the panel’s non-partisan, expert-driven mission.
“Its experts (are) non-political, and I would worry about moving it, even inadvertently, toward the political side,” Swagel said.
Carter pushed back against similar critique during Wednesday’s hearing, arguing that the panel is “already defined by politicization and crippled with political bias” since the CBO director is currently the only one who selects its members.
Carter said during the markup that Federal Election Commission filings reveal over 80% of current panelists who made political contributions in the past five years donated exclusively to liberal candidates or left-leaning organizations, with not a single member contributing to conservative candidates or right-leaning groups.
GOP Pushes Bill To Codify CBO Health Panel As Dems Warn Of Politicization
Inside Health Policy
September 26, 2024 5:24 pm
House Budget Committee Republicans advanced a bill along party lines Wednesday (Sept. 25) that would codify the responsibilities of the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisers, reduce the number of members on the panel, and give the House and Senate Budget Committee chairmen and ranking members the same authority as the CBO director to appoint the advisers — a move committee Democrats blasted as an attempt to politicize the panel.
The HEALTH Panel Act (H.R. 9686), introduced last week by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Michael Burgess (R-TX), would formally establish the Panel of Health Advisors to provide technical expertise in health-related areas and enhance the CBO’s analyses, cost estimates and studies on health care issues and policies.
During the markup, both bill sponsors emphasized that CBO’s cost estimates are crucial in determining whether a health care bill can move forward, which underscores the importance of keeping the Panel of Health Advisers nonpartisan.
“Myself, along with other members of this committee, are concerned that the vesting [of] sole appointment authority in one individual [means] the panel is not inclusive of different ideological positions and fails to accurately represent a range of stakeholders with expertise across the health care sector,” Carter said.
Democrats on the committee unanimously opposed and voted against the legislation during Wednesday’s markup. While both parties have plenty of complaints about CBO, Republicans’ political intention is to “cook the books” in how the CBO handles health care issues, according to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).
“Stacking the panel with a number of additional industry representatives will not produce more accurate estimates, and it will certainly politicize one of the few institutions that we can turn to for objective analysis and accountability on our work,” Doggett said during the markup.
This comes two weeks after the Panel of Health Advisers met behind closed doors to discuss multi-cancer screening tests, cell and gene therapies, the long-term budgetary impacts of preventive services and vertical integration in health care markets.
Currently, the Panel of Health Advisers has 22 members, all appointed by the CBO director. However, under the new bill, the panel would be reduced to 15 members, with appointments made by the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Budget Committees along with the CBO director. The legislation specifies that these members must have expertise in fields like health finance, economics, actuarial science or other health-related areas.
Under the legislation, members would serve three-year terms with a limit of two terms, and initial appointments would have staggered terms to ensure continuity. The CBO could also require panel members to disclose potential conflicts of interest and sign confidentiality agreements to protect sensitive government information.
The bill, which now heads for a full House vote, would require the panel to meet at least once a year and produce an annual report on its activities. This report would include recommendations approved by at least nine members, which the CBO director must take into account when conducting cost estimates or studies. The report would also be shared with the Budget committees of both the House and Senate.
CBO Director Phillip Swagel cautioned against legislation giving Congress a larger role in CBO appointments during a House Budget Committee hearing two weeks ago focused on improving CBO. He warned that this type of legislation could introduce political dynamics and undermine the panel’s non-partisan, expert-driven mission.
“Its experts (are) non-political, and I would worry about moving it, even inadvertently, toward the political side,” Swagel said.
Carter pushed back against similar critique during Wednesday’s hearing, arguing that the panel is “already defined by politicization and crippled with political bias” since the CBO director is currently the only one who selects its members.
Carter said during the markup that Federal Election Commission filings reveal over 80% of current panelists who made political contributions in the past five years donated exclusively to liberal candidates or left-leaning organizations, with not a single member contributing to conservative candidates or right-leaning groups.