FLICKR, MARK TAYLORRepresentative Tom Price (R-GA), an orthopedic surgeon and president-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, faced a contentious senate hearing on Wednesday (January 18).
In response to calls to repeal the Affordable Care Act before Congress can enact a plan to replace it—an idea once floated by Trump himself—Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) bluntly told Price that she had “serious concerns about your qualifications and plans for the department you hope to lead,” the Washington Post reported. “It’s like being asked to jump out of an airplane without a parachute and saying, ‘Trust us, we will build a parachute,’” added Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Democrats asked Price whether he would support empowering Medicare to negotiate prices directly with drug companies, according to STAT—a position that Trump has championed, but that the GOP strongly opposes. “Will you work with us so that Medicare can negotiate prices?” asked Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT). ...
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