Primary Health and Retirement Security

The Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security is one of three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It handles a specialized slice of the parent committee's broad jurisdiction over health, education, labor, and pension policy. The subcommittee focuses on primary health care access and retirement security issues that affect Americans across the country.

The subcommittee's jurisdiction covers a wide range of interconnected policy areas. On the health side, it oversees the Health Resources and Services Act, substance abuse and mental health services, oral health, and health care disparities. On the retirement side, it covers railroad retirement, private retirement plans, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation through the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The subcommittee also has jurisdiction over the domestic activities of the Red Cross. Additionally, it addresses aging-related issues including the Older Americans Act, long-term services and supports, elder abuse prevention, and health concerns affecting seniors like Alzheimer's disease.

The subcommittee is chaired by Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), a physician, with Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) serving as Ranking Member. The 19-member panel holds initial hearings and reviews legislation within these policy areas before the full committee can report bills to the Senate floor. Recent subcommittee activity has included hearings on health care industry practices and their impact on patient care and health workers, as well as oversight of federal health agencies and their programs.