State Legislative Update: Artificial Intelligence and Health Policy

On Nov. 9, the Senate voted to end the longest federal government shutdown in history, with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) promising to hold a floor vote on a bill to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) in mid-December. On Nov. 19, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing to discuss solutions to lower Americans’ health care costs, in which witnesses and Senators primarily focused on the role of the ACA.

AMCP commends ACIP’s commitment to regularly reviewing the scientific evidence underlying national immunization recommendations. We recognize the importance of maintaining guidance that is both scientifically rigorous and operationally feasible across diverse care settings. In that spirit, we offer the following comments on the Committee’s ongoing consideration of vaccine safety and the hepatitis B vaccine birth-dose recommendation.

On Sunday, November 9, Senate Majority Leader Thune announced that he had reached an agreement with a group of 8 Democratic senators and the White House on a deal to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. On Monday, November 10, the Senate approved the government funding bill by a vote of 60-40, which sends the legislative package back to the House of Representatives.