Health Care
For more information concerning work and views related to Health Care, please contact our office.
More on Health Care
As the U.S. grapples with containing COVID-19, Congress has been working to provide emergency funding for research, relief efforts, small businesses, unemployed workers and more. Phase III of the funding plan, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed the House and Senate the week of March 22. It’s not a perfect bill, but the CARES Act goes a long way in aiding those most affected by COVID-19.
COVID-19 is presenting many unique challenges to American families, lawmakers, state and local officials, businesses and many others. These are uncharted waters for all of us, and it’s important we remain united and work together to care for our friends and loved ones.
As Coronavirus continues spreading across the U.S., I urge everyone to exercise caution and work to protect your own health and the health of your friends and family. Many of you have called or written to me asking for more information, so Congressman French Hill and I hosted a telephone town hall to answer questions. Dr. Nate Smith from the Arkansas Department of Health joined us on the line, and his advice was so valuable.
The best ways to protect yourself and others from sickness are to thoroughly and regularly wash your hands, avoid touching your face, sanitize doorknobs, phones, keyboards and other commonly used surfaces and stay home if you’re feeling sick. Even as Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19) dominates news headlines, these commonsense measures are still the best way to guard against getting sick.
Pharmacies have always played a significant role in our health care system. Giving Americans access to the services pharmacies provide is especially important in rural regions. Yet now we're seeing independent pharmacies struggling because of decreasing reimbursement rates for prescription medications.
The culprit? Pharmacy Benefit Managers, commonly known as PBMs.
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Reps. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and U.S. Sen .Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced the bicameral Conditional Approval Act, which would establish a pathway in the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase access and lower costs of prescription drugs.
Back in 2017, when Republicans in Congress made a big push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), they made some bold pledges:
Title 1 – Private Sector Health Insurance Reforms
WASHINGTON — Unless Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill cooperate, the nation’s health care system won’t get the fixes it needs, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., told an American Enterprise Institute audience Tuesday.
The lawmaker from Hot Springs has introduced legislation that he calls the Fair Care Act.