The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome (HERO) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) that would provide critical mental health resources to our nation's first responders and health care providers. The HERO Act was included in passage of the Restoring Hope for Mental… Read more »
Today, Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-07), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), introduced the Affordability is Access Act (AAA) to ensure that people across the country can access and afford over-the-counter birth control options and plan their own reproductive lives, on their own terms. Read more »
Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-07) today voted for two urgent pieces of legislation to address the current infant formula shortage in the United States, H.R. 7790, Supplemental Funding Legislation to Address Infant Formula Shortage and H.R.7791, Access to Baby Formula Act.Today's vote follows a May 17 letter that Congressman Bera joined more than 140 of his colleagues in urging… Read more »
Representatives Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) and Jason Smith (R-MO) today reintroduced H.R. 3796, the Health Savings for Seniors Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow seniors covered under Medicare to continue using or create new Health Savings Accounts (HSA). Under current law, Medicare beneficiaries are prohibited from continuing to contribute to or opening a new health savings account;… Read more »
Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) today voted for H.R. 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, bipartisan legislation to cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin at no more than $35 per month in Medicare Part D and commercial health insurance. "As a doctor, I know firsthand that far too many Americans are burdened with skyrocketing prescription drugs costs," said Representative Bera, who… Read more »
Today, Representatives Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced the Tracking Pathogens Act, legislation to enhance our nation's ability to prepare for future pandemics and strengthen our capacity to identify new viral threats through genetic surveillance and enhanced genomic sequencing."It's only a matter of time before we face our next pandemic," said Representative Bera,… Read more »
It's time to declare an end to this pandemic. As a member of congress, an internal medicine physician and the former chief medical officer for Sacramento County, I don't say this lightly.This doesn't mean that COVID has disappeared or that we won't continue to see people get ill, become hospitalized and die from this virus. There's no guarantee that we won't face new variants, some more… Read more »
When doctors take a pledge to do no harm, it means we have an obligation to not knowingly hurt people who come to us for help. It also means we have a duty to talk with our patients about their options and to make sure they're fully informed partners in their own care. That's why, as both a doctor and a member of the U.S. Congress, I'm so deeply disturbed by a 38-year-old American policy… Read more »
Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) today voted to pass the Build Back Better Act, landmark legislation that will make generational investments in American families by lowering child care and health care costs, cutting taxes for the middle class, and creating millions of good-paying jobs across the country."Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, American families were burdened with high… Read more »
Today, Representatives Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) and Don Young (R-AK), Co-Chairs of the House TB Elimination Caucus, introduced the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation that would empower public health officials with the necessary tools to combat and eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in the United States.In the United States, TB remains a serious problem. According to… Read more »
