Skip to content
RollCall logo

Staff

Lauren Clason

The Latest From Lauren Clason
A compromise reached between Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bernie Sanders and Sen. Roger Marshall would authorize $26 billion in spending for community health centers and other health programs.

Sanders, Marshall reach deal on health programs, but challenges remain

By Jessie Hellmann and Lauren Clason
Posted September 14, 2023 at 5:29pm
A draft drug shortage bill from House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers focuses on the economics underpinning low-margin generic drug production.

Partisan divide on drug shortages unresolved after hearing

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 14, 2023 at 4:19pm
Sudafed PE is displayed on a pharmacy shelf. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Tuesday unanimously concluded that oral phenylephrine, the decongestant found in many common cold medications, including Sudafed PE, is ineffective.

FDA advisers reject efficacy of common cold medication

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 12, 2023 at 2:26pm
The Food and Drug Administration approved the boosters one day before a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel is expected to discuss recommendations for who should receive the vaccines and when, with CDC Director Mandy Cohen expected to sign off shortly thereafter.

FDA greenlights new COVID-19 shots for this fall

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 11, 2023 at 3:16pm
Messages of support decorate the windows of Greenwood Leflore Hospital in Greenwood, Miss. The hospital has struggled to stay open since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Medicare pandemic advances deepen debt for some hospitals

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 6, 2023 at 6:00am
Hemant Shahi smokes marijuana during an October 2022 rally with cannabis activists outside the White House.

HHS completes review of rescheduling cannabis

By Lauren Clason
Posted August 30, 2023 at 5:43pm
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he aims to have bipartisan reauthorization community health center legislation ready by the first week of September. That measure is one of a handful of health programs Congress must pass before the end of this fiscal year.

Health deadlines pile up as Congress adjourns for August

By Lauren Clason, Ariel Cohen, Jessie Hellmann and Sandhya Raman
Posted July 27, 2023 at 6:00am
External advisers recommended the approval of Opill over-the-counter birth control in May, even though the FDA voiced concerns about the company’s data.

FDA approves first OTC birth control pill

By Lauren Clason
Posted July 13, 2023 at 10:47am
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s allegations mark an escalation in lawmakers’ attacks on former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and the National Institutes of Health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fight over whether risky research helped create the virus.

House committee questions legality of Fauci, NIH appointments 

By Lauren Clason
Posted July 10, 2023 at 2:26pm
The FDA headquarters in White Oak, Md., is pictured on July 20, 2020. The agency approved the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi on Thursday.

FDA grants full approval to new Alzheimer’s drug

By Lauren Clason
Posted July 6, 2023 at 5:47pm
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf testifies during a Senate Appropriations hearing in April. The agency is expected to decide on Thursday whether to approve a new Alzheimer's drug.

Expected Alzheimer’s drug approval signals new era in treatment

By Lauren Clason
Posted July 6, 2023 at 5:00am
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pictured here, joined ranking committee member Bill Cassidy, R-La., in releasing draft language on a key pandemic preparedness bill.

Senate releases bipartisan draft of emergency preparedness bill

By Lauren Clason
Posted July 3, 2023 at 4:39pm
A vape shop in Queens, New York City. The CDC on Thursday released new sales data for e-cigarettes.

Disposable vape sales soared after FDA focused efforts elsewhere

By Lauren Clason
Posted June 22, 2023 at 1:58pm, Updated June 23, 2023 at 12:10pm
Mississippi has the worst infant mortality rate, with more than eight babies dying for every 1,000 births.

Mississippi community workers battle maternal mortality crisis

By Lauren Clason
Posted June 15, 2023 at 6:00am
A pediatric hospital room in Greenwood Leflore Hospital sits empty. The hospital closed down its pediatrics unit in Greenwood, Miss., when it closed the maternity ward last August. The 208-bed hospital has hemorrhaged services and staff in the last few years as it fought to stay open, shuttering its ICU, dialysis and rehab units and selling off other specialty services.

Mississippi Delta hospitals battle financial factors to survive

By Lauren Clason
Posted May 24, 2023 at 7:00am
The American Red Cross brought a bloodmobile to Adams Rite Aerospace in Fullerton, Calif. on Jan. 20, 2022.

FDA finalizes new rules on blood donations

By Lauren Clason
Posted May 11, 2023 at 1:40pm
FDA advisers on Wednesday voted 17-0 to recommend the agency approve the nation’s first over-the-counter birth control pill.

FDA weighs potential over-the-counter birth control pill

By Lauren Clason and Sandhya Raman
Posted May 10, 2023 at 6:50pm
Rochelle Walensky, who announced she is leaving her job as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is shown testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in June 2022.

CDC director to depart in June

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted May 5, 2023 at 3:12pm
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., right, Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., are seen during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in March. Sanders and Cassidy this week announced a May 2 markup of a series of bills aimed at addressing drug prices.

House, Senate craft separate health care packages

By Lauren Clason and Jessie Hellmann
Posted April 27, 2023 at 7:00am
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said the panel will likely hold hearings on the reauthorization bill in late spring.

Legislative themes emerge on upcoming pandemic reauthorization

By Lauren Clason
Posted April 5, 2023 at 6:30am
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, was critical of a 2018 decision to change how livers used in organ transplants are allocated.

Biden administration plans overhaul of organ transplant system

By Lauren Clason
Posted March 22, 2023 at 4:35pm
Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing titled “Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine?” on Wednesday.

Moderna CEO grilled by Senate panel over planned price hike

By Lauren Clason
Posted March 22, 2023 at 3:01pm
Sen. Josh Hawley attends a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee markup in the Dirksen Building on Wednesday.

Energy department briefs senators on COVID-19 origins

By Lauren Clason
Posted March 16, 2023 at 4:44pm
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, is holding a hearing on the origins of COVID-19 Wednesday, with former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield slated to testify.

COVID-19 origins probe plods on with no clear resolution

By Lauren Clason
Posted March 6, 2023 at 3:44pm
A bottle of naloxone with a needle. Naloxone nasal sprays, which are used to counter opioid overdoses, appear headed for over-the-counter use after an FDA advisory committee's recommendation.

FDA could widen path for OTC birth control, statins

By Lauren Clason
Posted March 2, 2023 at 6:00am
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf has reiterated a call for Congress to pass a user fee agreement with the e-cigarette industry to help fund the massive vaping workload the agency has struggled to handle.

FDA plans oversight changes after critical tobacco report

By Lauren Clason
Posted February 24, 2023 at 2:16pm
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday.

Biden mixes doable, aspirational health messages in speech

By Lauren Clason, Sandhya Raman, Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted February 9, 2023 at 7:01am
Incoming Senate HELP Chairman Bernie Sanders has expressed worry about drug company plans to increase COVID-19 vaccine costs after the public health emergency ends.

End of public health emergency causes cascade of changes

By Sandhya Raman, Lauren Clason, Jessie Hellmann and Ariel Cohen
Posted February 2, 2023 at 6:30am
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, will lead the panel.

Broad focus planned for revamped COVID panel under GOP majority

By Lauren Clason
Posted January 25, 2023 at 5:27pm
House Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., called the report a "wake-up call" and, with Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said the findings "raise serious concerns" about Aduhelm's approval process.

House report questions FDA’s approval of Alzheimer’s drug

By Lauren Clason
Posted December 29, 2022 at 3:56pm
A member of staff disembarks from an Air China flight carrying 500.000 protective masks at Athens International Airport on March 21, 2020.

CDC reinstates COVID-19 testing for flights from China

By Lauren Clason
Posted December 28, 2022 at 5:08pm
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, earlier this year on Capitol Hill. During an interview with CQ/Roll Call Wednesday, Walensky called for funding and authority to allow the agency to more nimbly respond to public health crises such as COVID-19 and mpox.

CDC head asks for COVID-19 funding, data as Hill interest fades

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted December 7, 2022 at 4:54pm, Updated at 9:36pm
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is in line to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee next year, criticized the move to steer funds to the vaccination campaign.

GOP: White House shifts provider funds for COVID-19 campaign

By Lauren Clason
Posted November 23, 2022 at 1:40pm
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus during the White House press briefing on Tuesday.

New booster shots cut risk of symptomatic COVID-19

By Ariel Cohen and Lauren Clason
Posted November 22, 2022 at 2:38pm
Five states weighed in on abortion-related measures during Tuesday's elections, with voters appearing likely to follow Kansas’ lead in either rejecting measures limiting a woman’s right to an abortion or protecting that right.

Abortion rights backers see big wins in Tuesday results

By Sandhya Raman, Lauren Clason and Jessie Hellmann
Posted November 9, 2022 at 1:40pm
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., speaks at a campaign rally in Clarkston, Ga., on Thursday.

Warnock pushes insulin cost caps as campaign nears finish line

By Niels Lesniewski and Lauren Clason
Posted November 4, 2022 at 11:47am
President Joe Biden announced that he would revisit the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug, but states are pushing ahead with legalization efforts.

Biden ponders marijuana moves as states forge ahead

By Lauren Clason and Sandhya Raman
Posted November 2, 2022 at 9:08am
Democrats including House Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., are calling on the Biden administration to further strengthen guidance related to birth control access. Her panel, in a report Tuesday, highlighted barriers some patients face in accessing certain types of birth control. 

FDA delays key advisory committee meeting on OTC birth control

By Lauren Clason and Sandhya Raman
Posted October 26, 2022 at 12:42pm
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., a Senate appropriator, led the state's efforts to gather health-related earmarks in fiscal 2022.

Mississippi rebuilds health earmark empire in post-Cochran era

By Lauren Clason
Posted October 26, 2022 at 11:08am
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf will make the final decision on removing the only available drug aimed at lowering the risk of premature births.

FDA advisory committee votes to pull drug for premature births

By Lauren Clason
Posted October 19, 2022 at 2:19pm
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, are hoping to push their insulin affordability bill through before the end of the year despite a tight legislative window.

Lawmakers eye lame duck for unfinished business on insulin

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 28, 2022 at 8:54am
Sen. Richard M. Burr, R-N.C., had objected to the bill marked up in the Senate HELP Committee because of concerns about policy riders attached to the legislation.

Lawmakers strike deal on ‘practically clean’ FDA user fee bill

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 22, 2022 at 3:16pm
President Joe Biden touted the new drug pricing law as he was promoting his "Cancer Moonshot" in Boston Monday.

Biden touts new drug pricing law amid cancer, biotech push

By Lauren Clason
Posted September 12, 2022 at 7:02pm
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said the vaccines’ updates are a routine modification.

FDA greenlights new COVID-19 booster despite limited data

By Lauren Clason
Posted August 31, 2022 at 11:51am
A pending FDA ban on menthol cigarettes has left experts and advocates calling on the Biden administration to do more to avoid potential confrontations between police and racial minorities when the ban goes into effect. An estimated 85 percent of Black smokers use menthols, according to the FDA, compared to 30 percent of white smokers. 

Advocates urge FDA action to ease policing fears in menthol ban

By Lauren Clason
Posted August 23, 2022 at 10:15am
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, announced Monday that he would step down in December after more than 50 years of government service.

Fauci to step down in December

By Lauren Clason and Jessie Hellmann
Posted August 22, 2022 at 2:14pm
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, earlier this year on Capitol Hill. During an interview with CQ/Roll Call Wednesday, Walensky called for funding and authority to allow the agency to more nimbly respond to public health crises such as COVID-19 and mpox.

CDC eyes reset following external review

By Lauren Clason
Posted August 17, 2022 at 2:06pm
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday finalized a rule making hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss available without requiring them to see a doctor. The rule will take effect in 60 days and hearing aids could be available over-the-counter for Americans in early October.

FDA finalizes over-the-counter hearing aid rule

By Lauren Clason
Posted August 16, 2022 at 12:23pm
The Biden administration on Tuesday released the first 10 drugs eligible for Medicare price negotiation.

Senate’s Medicare drug pricing may ripple into private market

By Lauren Clason and Jessie Hellmann
Posted August 10, 2022 at 3:05pm
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters in between votes during the reconciliation bill "vote-a-rama" in the Capitol on Sunday, Aug. 7.

Thune breaks through Democratic bloc on ‘vote-a-rama’ amendments

By Lindsey McPherson, Lauren Clason and Benjamin J. Hulac
Posted August 7, 2022 at 7:56am, Updated at 5:19pm