Healthcare
A physician in a seat with real leverage, writing healthcare bills that go straight to his own committee.
John Joyce, a practicing dermatologist, is one of 16 physicians in the House. Nearly two-thirds of the bills he’s sponsored or co-sponsored have been healthcare related.
His vote to restrict soda and candy purchases under SNAP benefits (H.Amdt. 206) earns thanks from PushBack, even though the amendment never became law. As it stands, a SNAP recipient can order a case of Red Bull from Amazon entirely at taxpayer expense. That’s intolerable.
Joyce served as vice chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, and is now chair of its Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. He’s also a member of its Health Subcommittee. Energy & Commerce handles Medicaid, FDA, public health, and Medicare Parts B, C, and D. All of his key healthcare bills landed in his own committee: Patients First (H.R. 9693), Medicare Advantage Improvement (H.R. 8375), SPARC Act (H.R. 4681), Choices for Increased Mobility Act (H.R. 1703), and the SECURE 340B Act (H.R. 9599). H.R. 9599, which he cosponsored with Democrat Scott Peters, would stop manufacturers and contract pharmacies from siphoning 340B discounts meant for low-income patients. H.R. 8375 would curb prior-authorization delays and denials that insurers use to dodge liability.
Joyce is quietly but decidedly anti-pot. He voted no on two 2022 House marijuana-research bills most Republicans supported: H.R. 5657, the Medical Marijuana Research Act (passed the House, died in the Senate), and H.R. 8454, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which became law. H.R. 8454 eases DEA registration and supply so scientists can study cannabis but does not legalize recreational use.
Joyce’s Dairy Pride Act (2026), with 15 co-sponsors, would restrict the commercial use of “milk,” “cheese,” and similar dairy terms to actual dairy products, barring plant-based alternatives from using them. Not a healthcare issue perhaps, but it’s a legitimate truth-in-labeling bill that could deliver some relief to the struggling dairy industry. Pennsylvania lost hundreds of dairy farms in 2025 alone, with cow numbers down 12% from a decade ago. The bill is still in the Energy & Commerce Committee, with no floor vote yet.
Would have barred SNAP food-stamp benefits from covering soda purchases. Joyce voted yes, breaking with 55 Republicans and directly opposing Big Soda lobbying interests. The amendment failed, but Joyce’s vote reflected genuine integrity.
View amendment text on Congress.gov →Lets Medicare beneficiaries pay only the cost difference for a lighter, more capable wheelchair frame instead of the full device cost. Six GOP and four Dem cosponsors. Passed the House without objection.
View bill text on Congress.gov →Joyce’s most substantive healthcare bill this Congress, introduced with Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and 20 co-sponsors. Would rein in Medicare Advantage plans’ abuse of prior authorization. Speeds up payments and penalizes noncompliant plans.
View bill text on Congress.gov →The Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care Act, a loan-repayment program to encourage more specialty physicians to practice in rural areas.
View bill text on Congress.gov →A bipartisan proposal to modernize the 340B Drug Pricing Program for the first time since 1992. Joyce signed on the day it was introduced.
View bill text on Congress.gov →Would have opened a federal pathway for researchers to study medical marijuana. Joyce voted no, while most in the GOP voted yes (GOP tally 126-75). The bill passed the House but died in the Senate.
View bill text on Congress.gov →Eased registration and supply rules so scientists could study cannabis without treating it like a street drug. It does not legalize recreational use. Joyce voted no. A slim majority of Republicans voted yes (109-95), along with all Dems, and the bill became law.
View bill text on Congress.gov →Would restrict the commercial use of “milk,” “cheese,” and similar dairy terms to actual dairy products, barring plant-based alternatives from using them. Joyce’s own bill, with 15 cosponsors, still in the Energy and Commerce Committee with no floor vote yet.
View bill text on Congress.gov →