Senate Finance Schedules RFK Jr. Hearing for Jan. 29: On Wednesday, Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) announced the nomination hearing for HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for next Wednesday, January 29. The Senate HELP Committee is expected to have their hearing late next week, as well. The HELP Committee hearing is considered a courtesy hearing as that committee will not vote on his nomination.

Trump Withdraws from WHO: On his inauguration day, President Trump signed a slew of Executive Orders, including one to withdraw U.S. membership from the World Health Organization. The withdrawal will eventually lead to a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for the WHO’s core budget, and the organization put out a statement hoping for future dialogue with the President’s team.  

HHS Under Two-Week Communications Freeze: On Tuesday, the Trump White House’s transition leadership told the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to halt all public communications until February 1. HHS is only making exceptions for “mission critical” communications determined by a case-by-case basis, and the pause was ordered to undertake a “processes for review and prioritization.”

Senate HELP Leadership Says PBM Reform a Priority: During a Tuesday executive session, Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said the Committee plans to prioritize pharmacy benefit manager reform and lowering prescription drug costs. Sen. Sanders said the Committee’s “first order of business” should be for the “agreement [from] last year get[ting] signed into law.”

Ways and Means Committee Majority Circulates Health Funding Proposals: Last Friday, Politico reported House Budget Committee Republicans distributed a 50-page list of potential spending and tax proposals that may be included in budget reconciliation legislation. Among the reported proposals are cuts to benefits to non-citizens, Medicare site neutrality, reforms to the DSH program, and changes to the Medicare geographic Wage Index.

‍