Simplicity is a virtue.

From Washington, DC

• The House of Representatives and the Senate are in session this week on Capitol Hill for Committee business and floor voting. Punchbowl News adds,
  • “It’s the last time this will happen until the week of Sept. 14, nearly two months from now.
  • “The Senate will be in through Aug. 7, while members of the House are leaving for five weeks starting on Thursday. Yes, it’s only mid-July, but the House won’t be back until Aug. 31.”

• Noteworthy Committee hearings include:
  • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Wednesday July 22, 2026 10:00 AM Local Time | 2154 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
  • Markup: the Full Committee to consider the following: 1) H.R. 6610, Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act]; 2) H.R. 9720, D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act; 3) H.R. 9725, Restoring Integrity and Efficiency to Inspector General Oversight Act of 2025; 4) H.R. 9643, Comment Integrity and Management Act; 5) H.R. 9741, To name the DC Tuition Assistance Grant program the “Eleanor Holmes Norton District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program”; 6) Several postal naming measures.
  • Related Items: H.R.8359 , H.R.9741 , H.R.8945 , H.R.9643 , H.R.9725 , H.R.4283 , H.R.8326 , H.R.6610 , H.R.8999 ,H.R.9026 , H.R.6006 , H.R.9720 , H.R.9570 , H.R.7365 , H.R.8419
  • Meeting Details
    • The FEHBlog expects that this anti-competitive FEHB bill HR 6610 would increase the cost of prescription drugs in the FEHB and PSHB programs.
    • The meeting details note;
      • H.R. 6610, Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act]
        • A.Summary
          • The bill proscribes terms, requirements, and prohibitions for the Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) program plan contracting with Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). Specifically, the bill requires PBMs to reimburse pharmacies and effectively apply the amount of pharmaceutical manufacturer rebates to the amount beneficiaries pay for respective prescription drugs. The bill prohibits PBMs from “steering” beneficiaries towards certain pharmacies and imposes noncompliance penalties, subject to specified hearing and appeals processes.
        • B. Amendments
          • The Chairman will offer an ANS.
  • Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
    • Thursday July 23 9:47 AM (EDT) – Senate | 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
    • Open Business Meeting: Business meeting to consider the nominations of Sean Kaufman, of Georgia, to be Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Erica Schwartz, of Florida, to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Keith Sonderling, of Florida, to be Secretary of Labor.
    • Related Items: PN1129 , PN932 , PN937-3
    • Meeting Details

From the Food and Drug Administration front,

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “Taylor Farms said that the Food and Drug Administration has apologized after the agency walked back an earlier statement that the parasite linked to an outbreak affecting thousands of people had been detected on a sample of its lettuce.
  • “The FDA on Sunday said it has yet to identify the presence of cyclospora on samples of lettuce from the company despite recent tests. The agency now deems the detection that it reported Saturday a false positive after laboratory experts reviewed the sample results.
  • “Taylor Farms, which supplies some of the country’s biggest retailers and restaurants, makes a range of products from salad kits to vegetable blends. Government agencies had linked shredded iceberg lettuce—served at locations of the restaurant chain Taco Bell—to reports of foodborne-illness in five states. The company said it initiated a recall “in an abundance of caution” of its iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico. Many of its other products remain on store shelves.”
• FEHBlog observation: Huh? Have cyclospora cases been dropping since the recall?

From the public health and medical / Rx research front.

• WABC News in New York City reports,
  • “Officials have released new information about the second person who has died in connection to the ongoing Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the Upper East Side.” * * *
  • “As of Saturday night, 72 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, and nine people are hospitalized in association with this cluster.
  • “The tragic announcement comes just days after the city revealed more than 45 additional positive tests for Legionella bacteria linked to cooling towers on the Upper East Side.
  • “So far, they have ordered a total of 76 buildings to clean their cooling towers as they work to contain the ongoing outbreak.
  • “Legionnaires’ disease is treatable but 10% of people will die due to complications from the illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
    
• Medscape relates,
  • “An imaging-derived measure, the sarcopenic obesity index, predicted heart failure, cardiovascular death, and all-cause mortality better than traditional body composition measures such as BMI and waist-based ratios, capturing the combined burden of excess adiposity and low muscle mass.”
    
• Beckers Behavioral Health tells us about “24 new behavioral health study findings to know,”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Beckers Hospital Review provides us with 10 things to know about the hospital profitability divide.

• Beckers Physician Leadership points out
  • “More than 63% of physicians are already working in locum tenens or considering taking on a locum tenens role within the next five years, according to a report from Doximity.” Locus tenems means temporarily filling in for other clinicians to maintain continuity of care. Specialized staffing companies manage these fill ins for hospitals and medical practices.