HEALTH Panel Act

The HEALTH Panel Act would create formal legal authority for an existing Panel of Health Advisors within the Congressional Budget Office. This panel would provide expert recommendations to help the CBO analyze and estimate costs related to health programs and healthcare policy. The panel would consist of 15 members serving three-year terms, with appointments made by the chairs and ranking minority members of both the House and Senate Budget Committees, as well as the CBO director.

If enacted, the bill would require the panel to submit regular reports to Congress detailing what recommendations it provided to the CBO and how those recommendations were used in the agency's analysis. These reports would be published on the CBO's website for public access. For citizens, this could mean more transparent and expert-informed cost estimates when Congress considers healthcare legislation, though the panel itself would have no direct authority to make policy decisions.