Senate HELP Committee holds hearing for HHS secretary nominee

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today held a hearing for Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services. When Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and others raised concerns about reducing coverage, Price said, “People need to know the rug isn’t going to be pulled out from under them.” Urged by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to reduce the regulatory burden on small rural hospitals, Price said, “I share the concern you have with respect to regulatory burden.” Asked by Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) if he would keep the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Center, Price said, “I think it has great promise and possibility,” but “I adamantly oppose the mandatory nature with which it has approached problems.” Unlike the Senate Finance Committee, which will hold a separate hearing on Price’s nomination Jan. 24, the Senate HELP Committee does not vote on the nomination.