Congressman Tom Price has been picked to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Donald Trump’s administration.
Sources close to Trump’s transition team told The Washington Post Monday that the Georgia Republican will formally be announced as HHS head as soon as Tuesday morning.
Price — a former orthopedic surgeon — has been one of the strongest opponents to the Affordable Care Act and currently serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee.
Price’s office did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Georgia Sen. David Perdue praised Price’s selection Monday evening.
“Tom is a fellow Georgian who understands that we need to stop Washington’s takeover of our health care system,” he said in a statement. “As a doctor, he is seen as a leading voice on health care policy and has a common-sense plan to replace Obamacare that will lower costs and put patients in charge of their health care choices.”
“I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Tom, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a fantastic job improving our nation’s health care system and the lives of all Americans.”
Price has authored several iterations of an Obamacare replacement plan, which bears many similarities to Trump’s vision for health care reform and to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s overhaul proposal. Price’s most recent bill, The Empowering Patients First Act of 2015, calls for giving refundable tax credits to those who buy policies in the individual market. The credits would be adjusted by age, ranging from $1,200 for those age 18 to 35 to $3,000 for those age 50 and up.
The plan would also offer more incentives for Americans to use Health Savings Accounts, including a one-time $1,000 tax credit for making contributions. It caps the tax exclusion on employer-sponsored plans at $20,000 for family coverage, and it allows insurers to sell coverage across state lines. Price’s bill also pushes states to create high-risk pools to insure those rejected by carriers on the individual market — usually those who have costly, pre-existing conditions.
Also, it limits using federal funds to pay for abortions and protects health care providers who don’t want to perform abortions for religious reasons.
More recently, Price has touted Ryan’s health care plan, titled “A Better Way.”
Trump will likely lean heavily on his health secretary to replace Obamacare. The president-elect has promised to repeal Obamacare as one of his first acts after taking office on January 20, but he has yet to lay out a detailed plan on how he’d replace it .
This is a developing situation. Check back for updates
Source: dailycaller