WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan today was officially named the lead Republican of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, becoming the first Floridian ever to lead the prestigious panel.
“I'm honored to lead Republicans on this crucial panel that oversees health care in our nation,” Buchanan said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to advance an agenda that makes health care more affordable and accessible for every American."
The congressman said his agenda would focus on a patient-oriented system that would encourage innovation and increase personalized health care choices. He said he would work to save and strengthen Medicare, continue to grow the use of telehealth services to improve access and affordability and prioritize preventive care.
As the top Republican on the Health Subcommittee, Buchanan said he looks forward to playing a leading role in shaping health care policy. The Health Subcommittee has broad jurisdiction over traditional Medicare, the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage. The subcommittee also oversees issues relating to medical education, private health insurance programs and subsidies delivered through the tax code, consumer-directed health savings tools and issues related to the quality of and access to care.
Ways and Means Republican Leader Kevin Brady said, “In his new role as Republican Leader of the Subcommittee on Health, Vern Buchanan will continue to be a champion for Americans’ health and providing Americans, especially seniors, with better access to affordable, quality care. Vern’s success as leader of the Subcommittee on Trade will be valuable, as he achieved bipartisan, pro-growth reforms resulting in more jobs for U.S. workers, farmers, and local businesses, and a stronger economy. I look forward to working together as he takes on this new role.”
Health care accounts for nearly one-fifth of all U.S. spending and is enormously important in Buchanan’s home state of Florida and its 4.7 million Medicare recipients.
This is the fifth subcommittee Buchanan has led since joining the committee more than a decade ago. He is also the first Floridian ever to lead the Health Subcommittee.
Buchanan most recently served as the lead Republican on the Trade Subcommittee where he oversaw the successful passage and implementation of the landmark United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which modernized and rebalanced the United States’ critical trading relationship with our North American neighbors. USMCA set the gold standard for future U.S. trade agreements, providing significant economic boosts to customs and trade facilitation services, agriculture and digital trade.
Prior to serving on Trade, Buchanan chaired the Tax Policy Subcommittee and was the lead Republican on the Oversight and Human Resources Subcommittees.
Buchanan, second in seniority on Ways and Means after Leader Kevin Brady, announced last year that he is running to become chairman of the full committee in the new Congress.
