Health Care

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today promoted Ninth District locations participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 28, 2017. Congressman Griffith issued the following statement: “Unused prescription drugs can be dangerous. They may be ingested accidentally or abused by people struggling with addiction. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day helps make commu... Read more »

Energy Independence is Closer Than Ever “America is at the beginning of an energy Renaissance.” Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently offered this view in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, on which I serve. His optimism marks a refreshing change from the last Administration. On February 23, 2012, then-President Obama ridiculed the idea that more oil drilling wou... Read more »

Right-to-Try Update The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, on which I serve, recently heard testimony from Dr. Scott Gottlieb, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), about expanding access to new, unapproved treatments for patients with life-threatening illnesses. I have long supported the idea of “right-to-try,” having introduced bills on the issue since 2014, and I a... Read more »

A recent study by Wakely Consulting Group found that a bill introduced by Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) to make sure community pharmacists receive the reimbursement rates they are promised would save the Federal Government $3.4 billion over 10 years. The bill, H.R. 1038, the Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Drug Spending Act, was introduced by Congressman Griffith and Co... Read more »

Healthcare and Foreign Affairs Healthcare Update Due to its arcane rules, the Senate faces a September 30 deadline for voting on a plan to replace Obamacare that requires a simple majority, not a 60-vote supermajority, for its passage. Current efforts center on the plan put forward chiefly by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal ... Read more »

Bringing Back Options for Health Insurance Obamacare was a poorly designed piece of legislation. It should never have passed. By now, the United States Senate should have passed a replacement bill. As predicted, the consequences of these two actions are now having significant consequences on the availability of health insurance in the United States and particularly in rural western Virginia. As a ... Read more »

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement in response to the health insurance provider Anthem’s decision to sell individual insurance plans in Virginia, including all jurisdictions of the Ninth Congressional District: “I am appreciative that Anthem reentered the market, ensuring that Southwest Virginians will have an option to purchase health insurance in 2018. Moving forwa... Read more »

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released the following statement regarding Optima Health’s decision not to participate in the Obamacare individual insurance exchange in the markets of the Ninth Congressional District, leaving residents of the Ninth without any expected options on the exchange for 2018: “This is the collapse of Obamacare I have spoken of for years. Obamacare was built much like ... Read more »

More Chaos on the Obamacare Exchanges The health insurance provider Anthem has decided to stop selling individual insurance plans on Virginia’s Obamacare exchange next year. It will also stop selling off-exchange individual plans, except in Washington and Scott Counties and the City of Bristol. As I write this column, information had not been released as to what individual plans will be available ... Read more »

Energy and Commerce Update As you know, I serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Many major domestic policy issues fall under its jurisdiction, from energy to telecommunications to manufacturing to healthcare and health insurance. This means that the committee always has a lot on its plate. I am pleased to report that it’s been hard at work addressing many of the big challenges facing f... Read more »