Health Care
Brian is a supporter of the Affordable Care Act recognizing the law was a beginning, not an end to expanding, improving, and providing more affordable healthcare options for Americans. He supports legislation aimed at bringing down the cost of prescription drug prices and is a lead sponsor of a bill that would allow people ages 50-64 to buy into Medicare early.
As Co-Chair of the House of Representatives Cancer Caucus, Brian works with his colleagues to support substantial federal investments in medical research, funding benefiting Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus here in Western New York and supporting families fighting horrible diseases and conditions across the nation. He is also a lead sponsor of the Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act, which requires health insurance companies to provide the same coverage for new, promising orally-administered anti-cancer medication as it does for traditional intravenous chemotherapy.
Brian remains at the forefront of today’s top health discussions ranging from improving mental health services to seeking solutions to combat the opioid epidemic, as a member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health.
For information about accessing health coverage through the Affordable Care Act visit: https://www.healthcare.gov/
For additional details about health care in New York State go to: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/
More on Health Care
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced passage of H.R. 6813, the Promoting Alzheimer's Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act, to ensure that the Department of Justice’s elder abuse training materials take into account individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s tweet indicating he has instructed his team to stop any discussions about providing Americans and communities with COVID relief until after the election.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is calling for Congress to approve the Fairness to Kids with Cancer Act (H.R. 4429). The proposed legislation, which Higgins is cosponsoring, seeks to achieve parity between the share of federal funding for cancer research that is allocated to pediatric cancer research and the percentage of the U.S. population that is under the age of 18.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced $773,233 in federal funding provided through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded to Neighborhood Health Center of WNY, Community Health Center of Buffalo, and Jericho Road Ministries to further strengthen quality improvement activities and expand quality primary health care service delivery.
H.R. 4920, Approved by the House & Senate and Signed Into Law this Month, Protects Local Jobs Which Would Have Been Lost
U.S. Senators Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced a new law to protect the jobs of Western New Yorkers who are blind or visually impaired.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is calling for a reversal of the Trump Administration’s latest move to limit COVID-19 testing. The Congressman’s comments come following changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s COVID-19 testing guidance. The new CDC recommendation says individuals who come into close contact with a person infected with COVID-19 do not necessarily need to be tested themselves.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is objecting to a decision by insurance companies to stop covering the costs of some COVID testing and the Administration’s loophole that allows companies to do it.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced a federal grant totaling $929,414 has been awarded to New York State for pandemic preparedness projects to help increase the planned pandemic response in upstate New York, including Erie and Niagara Counties.
Higgins said, “The COVID pandemic hit many American communities hard and left local governments struggling to recover. We have to be better prepared. These federal grants will take the lessons learned from the current pandemic and apply them to build a better, more robust and efficient pandemic response.”
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), who serves as Co-Chair of the Northern Border Caucus, released the following statement in response to today’s announcement that the Canadian government is extending travel restrictions between the United States and Canada through September 21, 2020:
“On full display for the entire world to see is the Trump Administration’s abject failure to lead. This lack of leadership is keeping families apart, straining the relationship with our closest allies, and contributing to unnecessary deaths.
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) joined a group of 89 members calling on Congressional leadership to include funding for the census in the next COVID-19 relief package, accompanied by a necessary extension to census reporting deadlines. The letter follows a recent announcement by the Census Bureau to suddenly end field data collection by September 30.