Trending News Today: Senators Launch Hearings Seeking Bipartisan Health Care Deal

The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation awarded prestigious prizes to Planned Parenthood and 2 scientists who played a critical role in the development of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, such as Gardasil, according to The New York Times. Drs Douglas R Lowy and John T Schiller received the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for technological advances that enabled HPV vaccinations. Meanwhile, a citation for the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award credits Planned Parenthood for providing essential health services and reproductive care, the NY Times reported. Each prize comes with $250,000.

Vice President Mike Pence swore in a new surgeon general on Tuesday. Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, was previously appointed to serve as the health commissioner of Indiana in 2014, according to The Hill. Dr Adams pledged to create better health by improving partnerships to combat health issues plaguing the United States, such as childhood obesity, diabetes, and the opioid epidemic.

In an effort to create a modest bipartisan deal, senators are seeking to shore up individual insurance markets, according to The New York Times. The Senate health committee scheduled 4 hearings that include testimony from 5 state insurance commissioners, with the first hearing scheduled for today. Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who is leading the bipartisan push, told the NY Times, “We’ll see if there’s a limited bipartisan step we can take. The timing is challenging. Getting Congress to do something in three weeks is hard to do.”