HEALTH Panel Act

This bill makes the Panel of Health Advisors at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) official in law and sets clear rules for how it works. The panel gives expert advice to help the CBO study health care and estimate costs. It must also report to Congress on the advice it gave and how the CBO used it, and the CBO must post that report on its website.

Key points:

• Who is affected: the CBO, the health experts who serve on the panel, and Congress; the public can read the panel’s report online.
• What changes: the panel is put into law to support CBO’s health analysis and cost estimates ; it must report its recommendations and how they were used, and the report must be posted online.
• Membership: 15 members serve three-year terms. The House and Senate Budget Committee leaders (majority and minority) and the CBO Director each appoint three members, for a total of 15.