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Health Care

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The Big Story

Senate panel to vote on RFK Jr.’s nomination

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a critical test Tuesday, as the Senate Finance Committee will vote on whether to send his nomination to the floor.

All eyes are on Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who last week expressed serious misgivings about Kennedy’s qualifications to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, namely over his insistence on promoting a false and debunked claim linking vaccines to autism.

“Man, if you come out unequivocally, ‘Vaccines are safe, it does not cause autism,’ that would have an incredible impact,” Cassidy said during a hearing last week.

But Kennedy, who has renounced his previous views on abortion to align with President Trump, refused to make such a statement.

Cassidy has been facing a pressure campaign from Kennedy allies and Republicans at home about his vote. Kennedy needs a majority vote to advance, and Republicans only have a single seat advantage in the committee. If Cassidy votes “no” along with every Democrat, the vote will fail.

According to Fox News, Kennedy and Cassidy spoke Sunday after the lawmaker said during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing last week the two might need to talk over the weekend.

Democrats appear united in opposing Kennedy. Even some Democrats on the committee who were perceived as being on the fence, like Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), seem likely to vote against him based on questions and statements they made during Kennedy’s confirmation hearing.

Ahead of the vote, Finance Committee Democrats were also pushing for a delay and for more concrete pledges from Kennedy about stopping his involvement in suing vaccine makers.

Democrats have been raising concerns about Kennedy’s intention to keep a financial interest from major lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers. In his initial ethics statement, Kennedy said he would keep 10 percent of the fees awarded in cases that he referred to Wisner Baum, a personal injury firm.

Kennedy last week told senators he was updating the agreement, but Democrats said the changes raised even more questions about his financial conflict of interest related to suing vaccine makers.

“These conflicts, combined with your decades-long career casting doubt about the safety and efficacy of life-saving vaccines, give us grave concern about your fitness to serve as Secretary,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

New York further shields abortion pill prescribers from out-of-state prosecutions

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Monday to protect the identities of health care providers prescribing abortion medication. The move comes days after a Louisiana grand jury indicted a New York doctor for prescribing and mailing abortion pills to a patient living in Louisiana. Under the new law, providers prescribing abortion medication can request that a dispensing pharmacy print the name of their practice …

Full Story

Graham says RFK Jr. ‘will implement a pro-life agenda’ as HHS secretary

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday he’s confident Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will support a “pro-life agenda” if confirmed as secretary. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Graham said he will support Kennedy’s nomination, even though the nominee has in the past described himself as “pro-choice” on the abortion issue. “I am now OK supporting …

Full Story

Confusion over federal funding freeze prompts public health concerns

Public health experts worry the confusion stirred by a Trump administration funding freeze memo will not end quickly, harming public health services. “It’s really hard to tell what’s actually happening, and I’m sure the agencies don’t know what’s happening and whether they should go forward or not, whether funding should continue or whether funding should stop,” said Josh Michaud, associate director of Global Health …

Full Story

On Our Radar

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

The Senate Finance Committee will vote tomorrow in a session beginning at 10 a.m. ET on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary.
The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee holds its first hearing on Thursday on illicit drug threats.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read:

Cassidy faces pivotal moment with RFK Jr. vote

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R), a physician-turned-politician from deep-red Louisiana, has emerged as a central figure in the confirmation fight over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Over the course of six hours in two hearings, Cassidy indicated he holds serious doubts about whether Kennedy is qualified to lead the agency, casting a cloud of uncertainty over Kennedy’s path …

Full Story

Around the Nation

Local and state headlines on health care:

New Texas patient advocacy group fighting unfair health insurance claim denials (Fox 26)
Alabama lawmakers have a plan to help fix the rural health crisis: ‘Get this done’ (AL.com)
Iowa to implement new children’s mental health care system under terms of legal settlement (The Gazette)

What We’re Reading

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Plastic shards permeate human brains (Science News)
On the frontline against bird flu, egg farmers fear they’re losing the battle (NPR)
Across the South, rural health care has become ‘trendy.’ Medicaid expansion has not. (KFF Health News)

What Others are Reading

Most read stories on The Hill right now:

Trump pauses Canadian tariffs for 30 days in deal with Trudeau

President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to a pause in implementing tariffs for at least a month, just hours after Trump agreed … Read more

Democrats blocked from entering USAID headquarters

A group of Senate and House Democrats were blocked from entering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday. … Read more