Tort Reform Update  
On Feb. 20, the omnibus tort reform bill, Senate Bill 68, passed out of the House by a slight margin of 91-82. The vote was primarily cast by party line, with a few Democrats stepping out against the Caucus’ position and voting ‘yes’ in support. The bill was then immediately transmitted back to the Senate. On March 28, the Senate ‘Agreed’ to the House’s version of the bill by a vote of 34-21. The bill is on Governor Kemp’s desk awaiting signature.   

Status of Emory’s priority sections of the bill:   

• Anchoring (Section 1): Language amended in House Rules Subcommittee allows for noneconomic damages to be stated in closing arguments as long as the amount is consistent with the initial request for noneconomic damages. It also allows for questions to be asked to prospective jurors about whether they could return a verdict in excess of some unspecified amount.  

• Truth in Damages (Section 7): Same as passed in the Senate; the language permits plaintiffs with health insurance to recover premium costs under certain conditions. It additionally allows evidence of both charged amounts and amounts necessary to satisfy medical bills under an insurance contract (even if the plaintiff declined to use their insurance), evidence of a letter of protection (LOP) and related details, and legislative intent to revoke the collateral source rule.

• The Senate has confirmed Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director following approval from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).  

• The Senate Finance Committee has voted to advance the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead CMS. With the advancement of the vote out of committee, Senate leadership will soon schedule a floor vote for Dr. Oz. 

• Earlier this month, President Trump withdrew his nomination for his first pick to lead the CDC, David Weldon. On March 24, he nominated acting CDC director Susan Monarez to lead the CDC. Monarez joined the CDC in January as acting director and previously served at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Senate HELP has not announced her confirmation hearing yet.  

As these leaders and their team get in place, the Emory OGCA team will work to promote Emory’s mission and priorities.    

Changes at HHS
The Trump Administration has been swiftly altering the landscape of the federal government. Following are some links outlining some of the changes happening at the U.S. Health and Human Services, an agency with which Emory does considerable work. 

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/hhs-restructuring-doge.html 

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/hhs-restructuring-doge-fact-sheet.html 

Emory Advocacy in DC
The Emory Federal Affairs team is grateful for the opportunity to advocate for Emory on Capitol Hill and with the Administration. Last week, Rollins School of Public Health Dean Dani Fallin and Ursula Kelly with Emory’s Injury Research and Prevention Center joined us on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and their staff. If you are planning to visit Capitol Hill with your association, please reach out to us and let us know. We are always happy to help! Please contact Jenna Lawler, jenna.lawler@emory.edu.