Chairman's Press
Groups Continue to Voice Support for Senate Health Committee Legislation to Reduce Health Care Costs
WASHINGTON, June 25, 2019 - After Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019, policy experts and advocacy organizations across the spectrum voiced their support of the bipartisan legislation to deliver better health care at lower cost. National Association of Insurance Commissioners: "We are writing to express our appreciation for your efforts to call attention to and attempt to address … Continue Reading
06.24.19
Alexander Statement on Health Care Costs Executive Order
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2019 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced an Executive Order to increase price transparency in the health care industry and expand access to direct primary care: "This Executive Order is consistent with bipartisan efforts in the Senate to increase price transparency in health care costs. Patients can't know how to reduce the cost of their health care unless they know what… Continue Reading
06.19.19
Senate Health Committee Leaders Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Reduce Health Care Costs
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2019 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today introduced S.1895, the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 - bipartisan legislation to deliver better health care at lower cost. Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray announced that the committee will vote on the legislation on June 26, 2019. "The single issue I hear most about from Tennesseans is, 'What are you going to do about the health care costs I p… Continue Reading
06.18.19
Alexander: Bipartisan Legislation Will Lower What Americans Pay Out of Their Own Pockets for Health Care
"This legislation will reduce what Americans pay out of their own pockets for health care in three major ways: First, it ends surprise billing; Second, it creates more transparency - there are seven bipartisan provisions that will: eliminate gag clauses and anti-competitive terms in insurance contracts, designate a non-profit entity to unlock insurance claims for employers, ban Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) from charging more for a drug than the PBM paid for the drug, and require patients to b… Continue Reading
06.05.19
Alexander Statement on Finance Committee Foreign Influence Hearing
NASHVILLE, June 5, 2019 - Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement on today's Senate Finance Committee hearing on foreign influence in scientific research: "It is hard to think of a major scientific advancement since World War II that has not been supported by federal research funding. Scientists from other countries have played an important role in research funded by the United States government-since 2000, 33 Americans who were born in other … Continue Reading
05.23.19
Senate Health Committee Leaders Release Bipartisan Discussion Draft Legislation to Reduce Health Care Costs
WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today released the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019-bipartisan discussion draft legislation to reduce health care costs. "There's one issue I hear a lot about from Tennesseans, and it is, 'What are you going to do about the health care costs I pay for out of my own pocket?' Well, we've got an answer," said Chairman Alexander. "Republicans and Democrats in the United… Continue Reading
05.14.19
Senate Passes Alexander, Bennet Resolution Celebrating 20th Annual National Charter Schools Week
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2019 - This week, the U.S. Senate passed Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Senator Michael Bennet's (D-Colo.) resolution celebrating the 20th annual National Charter Schools Week, which runs from May 12 through May 18, 2019, and commends the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of our nation's more than 7,000 charter schools across 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. "Charter schools give teachers more freedom to teach and… Continue Reading
05.09.19
Chairman Alexander Statement on White House Surprise Medical Billing Event
WASHINGTON, May 9, 2019 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after attending an event at the White House on surprise medical billing: "Ending surprise medical billing is a perfect example of how Congress and the president can work together to reduce out of pocket health care costs. Twenty percent of patients who visit the Emergency Room end up several weeks later with a several thousand dollar bill that they did not expect. I told t… Continue Reading
05.09.19
Alexander Statement on Administration Rule to Require Drug Companies to Disclose to Consumers List Prices on TV Ads
WASHINGTON, May 9, 2019 - Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the Trump Administration finalized a rule to require drug makers to disclose list prices to consumers in TV advertisements: "The Trump Administration rule is a smart idea because the more consumers know about drug prices the more likely those prices are to be lower. The Senate has already voted unanimously to make this happen last congress, and will work together again wit… Continue Reading
05.07.19
Chairman Alexander: HHS Should Be Careful Not To Go Too Far Too Fast on New Electronic Health Records Rules
"In 2015, I urged the Obama Administration to slow down implementation of Stage 3 of the Meaningful Use program, which incentivized doctors and hospitals to adopt electronic health records. They did not slow down, and looking back, the results would have been better if they had. I am especially interested in getting where we want to go with input from doctors, hospitals, vendors, and insurers, so we have less confusion, make the fewest possible mistakes and make sure we don't set some kind of u… Continue Reading
05.02.19
Chairman Alexander Statement on CBO Report on Medicare for All
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2019 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office report on Medicare for All: "The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that, under the Democrat Medicare for All scheme, Americans will lose the insurance they receive on the job-meaning that the 181 million Americans that the Census Bureau estimates have employer sponsored coverage could not keep their health insurance plan, even if they like … Continue Reading
05.01.19
Alexander: China’s Designation Today of Fentanyl as a Controlled Substance Will Save Thousands of American Lives
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2019 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said China's decision today to control all forms of fentanyl "will save thousands of American lives." Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be 100 times stronger than opioid prescription pills and is the source of the greatest increase in opioid overdoses in our country. Today, May 1, the Chinese government officially designated fentanyl as a controlled substance. At the urging of U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry Branst… Continue Reading
04.30.19
Alexander Statement on White House Meeting
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2019 - U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement: "I was glad to hear that the Alexander-Murray legislation came up in the White House meeting today. It is probably the best known piece of good legislation in my 17 years in the Senate that has yet to become law. "Senator Murray and I worked hard and well together for eight months with full support from President Trump to come up with an agreement that independen… Continue Reading
04.20.19
Alexander Statement on HHS Proposed Rule to Improve Electronic Health Records
NASHVILLE, April 20, 2019- Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on a new draft of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that will improve the exchange of information across health networks: "This proposed rule is an important step toward making it as easy for patients to get their medical records as it is to book an airline flight - and to reduce administrative burdens that are driving doctors away from the prac… Continue Reading
04.10.19
Chairman Alexander: Federal Government Should Not Act as A “National School Board for Colleges”
"Congress should create a new measure of accountability that looks at whether students are actually repaying their loans. A second step to improve accountability would be for the federal government to make the data it collects from colleges more useful to students and families. And third, we should strengthen the 44 federally recognized accrediting agencies upon which we rely for certifying that students are receiving a quality education." - Sen. Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, April 10, 2019 - Sen… Continue Reading
04.04.19
Alexander: President Trump Deserves Great Credit for China’s Decision to Control Fentanyl, Saving Thousands of American Lives
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2019 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said China's decision to control all forms of fentanyl "will save thousands of American lives." Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be 100 times stronger than opioid prescription pills and is the source of the greatest increase in opioid overdoses in our country. "When our senior delegation was in China in October, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials told me that one way or the other almost all of the… Continue Reading
04.02.19
Alexander: Congress Must Bring Certainty, Stability to the Laws Governing How Colleges Respond to Accusations of Sexual Assault
"I would like to focus on three issues raised by the Education Department's proposed Title IX rule: The requirements of due process, including cross examination; the effect of the location of the alleged assault; and the definition of sexual harassment. As Congress seeks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act this year, we should do our best to agree on ways to clarify these three issues." - Sen. Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, April 2, 2019 - U.S. Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexa… Continue Reading
04.01.19
Alexander Statement on U.S. Department of Labor Proposed Joint Employer Rule
WASHINGTON, April 1, 2019 - Senate labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Labor's new proposed "joint employer" rule: "The Trump Administration's proposed rule will help restore to franchise owners, who are hurt the most by the patchwork of joint employer standards, the opportunity to make their way into the middle class. The new rule gives businesses and workers a clear standard as to whether workers have two differ… Continue Reading
03.21.19
Alexander Statement on President Trump’s Higher Education Executive Order
NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 21, 2019 - Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Trump Administration's Higher Education Executive Order: "I agree with the administration that colleges should provide better data on student debt and put some 'skin in the game' to reduce student borrowing. And I agree that colleges should punish hecklers who veto free speech, and stop coddling students to protect them from disagreeable points of view. … Continue Reading
03.18.19
Chairman Alexander Statement on White House Higher Education Reform Proposal
NASHVILLE, March 18, 2019 - Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Trump Administration's Higher Education Reform Proposal: "I share the Administration's goals to make a college education worth it and to make it simpler to apply for federal student aid and pay back student loans. It is helpful to have these suggestions as I work with Senator Patty Murray, the senior Democrat on the education committee, to develop bipartisan re… Continue Reading
