The biggest health stories to watch in 2023

On tap for 2023: GOP investigations, abortion battles, covid pay-fors

Welcome to 2023, where some of last year’s most politically contentious fights are expected to quickly take center stage.

House Republicans will now have the power to fully launch a flurry of pandemic and health-related probes — and are planning to alter the focus of the select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. State legislatures are starting to convene for the first time in a post-Roe world. And the pandemic enters its fourth year, with a major change to how vaccines and treatments are paid for on the horizon. 

Here are the biggest storylines we’re following this year ⬇️

It’s a new year, and a newly divided Congress. The 118th Congress begins today, and House Republicans have been open about their plans to investigate everything from the origins of covid-19 to cracking down on prescription drug middlemen to scrutinizing key federal health agencies. Two main panels to watch: The House Oversight Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

A few bits of news: The House Oversight Committee’s first full committee hearing will focus on fraud within the trillions of dollars Congress approved for pandemic relief spending, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the panel’s chairman-elect, said in a statement to The Health 202. 

Early in the new Congress, Comer is also planning to hold a hearing on prescription drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which he and other lawmakers have accused of contributing to the high cost of medicines. 

• In a statement, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association — the main PBM lobby — said it’s “ready to engage with any committees that seek to better understand issues of prescription drug affordability,” adding that the focus should be on the entire drug supply chain, “including the drug manufacturers who alone set the price of all drugs.”

Meanwhile, House Republicans are aiming to change the mission of the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. This includes a focus on investigating the origins of the coronavirus, the development of vaccines and treatments, the implementation of vaccine mandates, and pandemic-related school closures. The change was contained in the proposed House GOP rules package that was circulated over the weekend and dictates how the chamber governs for the next two years.