Trump Picks Obamacare Critic to Lead HHS

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday appointed Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to head the Department of Health and Human Services, saying he would lead the effort to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law, the Affordable Care Act.

Trump also named Seema Verma, a health care consultant who revamped Medicaid in Indiana, as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Price, a former orthopedic surgeon, was an early Trump supporter and has been a vocal critic of Obamacare who has helped write several detailed plans to replace it.

In a statement, Trump called Price a “tireless problem solver and the go-to expert on health care policy.”

“He is exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible healthcare to every American,” Trump said.

The appointment, first reported Monday night by the Washington Post, was officially announced Tuesday by Trump's transition team. The email announcement called Price a "fierce opponent of government waste and devoted to limited government and lower spending."

The announcement garnered praise from Congressional Republicans. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, tweeted Monday night that Price was an "exceptional choice ... to help lead us out of the Obamacare debacle."

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Price was “the absolute perfect choice,” but incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was “far out of the mainstream of what Americans want when it comes to Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood.”

"Nominating Congressman Price to be [Health and Human Services] secretary is akin to asking the fox to guard the hen house," Schumer said.

Price also has demonstrated an anti-abortion record while in office, including through voting to de-funding Planned Parenthood. His appointment was celebrated by Susan B. Anthony List, who praised his “100 percent pro-life record.”

As secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services – which encompasses multiple agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Price would oversee any changes to Obamacare. Republicans in recent weeks also have stated their intention to reform Medicare, the government's program for older Americans and for people who have disabilities.

It’s unclear at this time how the replacement plan will take shape, but in discussing the president’s health care law Trump has said he favors keeping provisions that allow young people to stay on their parents' health insurance plans and ones that prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to people who have pre-existing conditions.

Democrats, including Obama, have warned Republicans that any laws aimed at health insurance coverage should not result in a lapse in health care coverage that was newly gained under the Affordable Care Act.

Price, 62, has served six terms in Congress and is currently chairman of the House Budget Committee. He is part of the House GOP Doctors Caucus, and advocates for changing Medicaid and Medicare so that they are no longer entitlements that are required to provide coverage to all qualified applicants. He supports converting Medicaid into block grants made directly to states, and requiring “able-bodied” applicants to meet work requirements in order to receive health care benefits, The Washington Post reports. He will succeed Secretary Sylvia Burwell, who has held the post since June 2014.

"I am humbled by the incredible challenges that lay ahead and enthusiastic for the opportunity to be a part of solving them on behalf of the American people,” Price said in a statement. “There is much work to be done to ensure we have a health care system that works for patients, families, and doctors; that leads the world in the cure and prevention of illness; and that is based on sensible rules to protect the well-being of the country while embracing its innovative spirit."

Price would work closely with Verma – president, CEO and founder of SVC, Inc., a health care consulting firm – whom Trump on Tuesday named as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Verma helped redesign Medicaid programs in several states, including the Medicaid waiver program for Indiana under Obamacare when Vice President-elect Mike Pence was governor. She also has experience with the federal government, private companies and foundations, according to the announcement.

“[Verma] has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems,” Trump said in a statement. “Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our health care system for the benefit of all Americans.”

Verma will follow acting administrator Andy Slavitt, who has held the position since March 2015.

In a statement Verma said she looked forward to helping Trump “tackle our nation's daunting health care problems in a responsible and sustainable way."