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A growing number of lawmakers want to increase the influence of medical industries and members of the public in the work of a federal health panel, which is best known for recommending against the general use of a prostate-cancer test and cautioning against widespread use of mammography for women in their 40s. The panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, is currently in the midst of finalizing a reaffirmation of the controversial mammography guidelines. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democratic House appropriator for federal health programs, added a rider to the fiscal 2016 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill that would block the task force from finalizing the recommendations for a year. (Young, 7/21)

The law supporting meals, home-based care and transportation services for low-income seniors scored a critical victory last week when the Senate voted unanimously for its renewal. But that long-sought momentum could stall in the House, despite advocates warning that vulnerable elderly are at risk. (Ehley, 7/21)