Politico Pro: Lloyd Doggett named ranking member on Ways and Means Health Subcommittee
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) will serve as the ranking member on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, the full committee’s ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) announced Friday.
Doggett will serve alongside subcommittee chair Vern Buchanan, who announced he’d lead the subcommittee Thursday. Doggett served as the subcommittee chair in the previous two Congresses when Democrats had control.
Doggett said in a statement that shielding Medicare from Republican threats is his top concern. He sees a window for bipartisan work with Buchanan on telehealth "to ensure the benefits of telehealth are delivered equitably while protecting both quality of care and taxpayer dollars from fraudsters."
He also said he'll continue looking to stymie fraud and abuse in Medicare Advantage.
Doggett has pushed for more transparency on drug pricing and protecting the Affordable Care Act while also sounding the alarm about telehealth fraud. He’s also pushed to update the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and for the Biden administration to use march-in rights — the government using patent rights from the development of a federally funded drug to license it to a generic maker for a lower price — to help reduce drug costs.
"I will continue my longstanding efforts to rein in Big Pharma monopoly prices for all Americans," Doggett said in the statement.
The other Democrats on the subcommittee are:
— Rep. Mike Thompson of California
— Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon
— Rep. Brian Higgins of New York
— Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama
— Rep. Judy Chu of California (the committee’s vice ranking member)
— Rep. Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania
— Rep. Danny Davis of Illinois
Davis wasn’t on the subcommittee in the last Congress. Democratic Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill), who were on the subcommittee in the previous Congress, aren’t anymore.
Former Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) also served on the subcommittee in the previous Congress but didn’t seek re-election.