Dr. Bill Cassidy is the senior senator from Louisiana and chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. He is the first physician to sit as HELP chair.
Dr. Cassidy has led Republicans on the HELP Committee since 2023, and spearheaded committee efforts to lower the price of prescription drugs, address the opioid and mental health epidemic, improve our nation’s response to natural disasters and public health emergencies, make college more affordable for students and families, protect workers’ rights and flexibilities, and ensure Americans have a secure retirement. He has also engaged in extensive government oversight and has sought to improve accountability and transparency into taxpayer-funded programs.
In addition to serving as the chair of the HELP Committee, Dr. Cassidy is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Dr. Cassidy grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University (LSU) for undergraduate and medical school. After his medical residency, Dr. Cassidy worked for over 25 years in the Louisiana charity hospital system to ensure Louisiana families could access quality health care, regardless of income. He also joined LSU Medical School teaching medical students and residents.
During this time, Dr. Cassidy co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic, a clinic providing free dental and health care to the working uninsured. He also created a private-public partnership to vaccinate 36,000 greater Baton Rouge area children against Hepatitis B at no cost to the schools or parents. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he led a group of health care volunteers to convert an abandoned K-Mart building into an emergency health care facility, providing basic health care to hurricane evacuees.
After serving in the Louisiana legislature, Dr. Cassidy was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2008 to represent Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District, where he served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In the House, he was influential in the passage of the legislation to address the nation’s obesity crisis and give Americans the power to make their own health care decisions.
He is married to Dr. Laura Cassidy and they have three children. Laura is a retired general surgeon specializing in breast cancer. She also helped found a public charter school in Louisiana specialized in teaching children with dyslexia. The Cassidy family attends church at the Chapel on the Campus in Baton Rouge.