President-Elect Donald Trump is preparing to unveil his pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, and a report says he will pick major Obamacare critic Tom Price, a six-term Congressman from Georgia.
The announcement of Price’s appointment may come as soon as Tuesday, according to a Monday evening report by The New York Times.
Price is a well-known critic of President Obama’s signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. In October, for instance, Price said Obamacare was in “near total collapse.”
In an October 1 Republican address, Price decried the collapse of Obamacare and blamed Democrats who “ignore the evidence and the voices of those who are being harmed by Obamacare” and continue to push the failed program.
In that same address, Price said Republicans were offering a “a bold vision to bring America’s healthcare system into the 21st century.”
Indeed, as far back as 2013, Rep. Price proposed to repeal and replace Obamacare by introducing the “Empowering Patients First Act,” which would provide coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. “[T]o make sure no one is priced out of the health insurance market because of a pre-existing illness or injury, the Empowering Patients First Act provides for the creation of robust pooling plans that would ensure that any one person’s health status does not increase his or her costs or the costs of others in the same pool,” Price’s said at the time.
Price also participated in one of the last joint appearances of Donald Trump and VP-Elect Mike Pence in the days before Election Day to tout the now President-Elect’s healthcare policies.
If confirmed as Health Secretary, congressman Price would take responsibility for a department with an annual budget of over $1 trillion, along with agencies that regulate food and drugs and medical research.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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