Trump picks Rep. Tom Price for HHS secretary, Verma for CMS
By Modern Healthcare - November 28, 2016
Rep. Tom Price, poised to become the next HHS secretary, rips up a
page of the Affordable Care Act ahead of Supreme Court arguments in a 2012 case
challenging the law.
(Story updated at 11:04 a.m. ET)
U.S.
Rep. Tom Price was nominated to be HHS secretary by President-elect Donald
Trump, according to a person familiar with the decision. Seema Verma, who helped
craft Indiana's conservative Medicaid expansion will lead CMS.
Price, an
orthopedic
surgeon from Georgia, would be a key part of Trump's promise to begin repeal
and replacement of the Affordable Care Act immediately after inauguration in
January.
Price currently has a powerful position as chairman of the
House Budget Committee. The Republican is also on the Health Subcommittee of the
House Ways and Means Committee.
Verma, a consultant, worked with Vice
President-elect Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana, on Healthy Indiana 2.0, a
Medicaid program that requires monthly contributions to health savings
accounts.
"Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team
that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans,"
Trump said in a statement.
Democrats reacted with alarm, though they lack
the power to block Price because of a change to filibuster rules they
orchestrated when controlling the Senate.
"Congressman Price has proven
to be far out of the mainstream of what Americans want when it comes to
Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood," said incoming Senate
Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) "Thanks to those three programs,
millions of American seniors, families, people with disabilities and women have
access to quality, affordable health care. Nominating Congressman Price to be
the HHS secretary is akin to asking the fox to guard the hen
house."
Price has been a staunch ACA critic and was one of the first to
put forward his own replacement plan in the form of the Empowering Patients First Act.
It
involves age-adjusted tax credits to help people buy insurance as well as
increased reliance on health savings accounts and high-risk pools at the state
level. It would allow people to opt out of Medicare, Medicaid or Veterans
Affairs benefits and receive the tax credit to buy an individual plan. Critics
say the plan would fail to keep pace with inflation and force higher
out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-payments. The legislation has not
been scored by the Congressional Budget Office.
Experts have also guessed
he would concentrate on state reform efforts and noted he has worked across the
aisle. Price has been a strong supporter of looking to state governments for
proposals of how to spend their healthcare dollars, even if the ideas are more
left-leaning than he might personally advocate.
He would likely encourage
states to seek waivers for using Medicaid and Medicare money their own
way.
Price has recently touted the healthcare plan spearheaded by House
Speaker Paul Ryan, which has many of the same elements.
Another likely
area of focus for Price at HHS would be rolling back abortion rights. He has
previously called for defunding Planned Parenthood and has supported many pieces
of anti-abortion legislation. In 2015, he co-sponsored a bill that would ban
abortion after 20 weeks.
He has also opposed the ACA provision that
requires plans to cover birth control as a no-cost preventive measure. Joe
Antos, a health policy expert at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise
Institute, said that Republican control of Congress and the White House could
make abortion a more active issue than it has been before, although it would
likely be decided in the courts.
Price appears to favor continuing
bipartisan efforts to move away from fee-for-service reimbursement and focus on
paying for the value and quality of care.
He voted for the Medicare
Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act and put forward a path for value-based
reimbursement methods in Medicare. Recently, however, he has criticized some
aspects of the law's implementation. He has specifically said reporting
requirements are a burden to physicians and should be streamlined.
Price
has said the CMS Innovation Center, which develops and pilots value-based
payment models and has been a frequent target for conservatives, has too much
authority and should defer more to Congress.
Price joined Congress in
2004 after four terms in the Georgia state Senate. He worked in private practice
for nearly 20 years and has taught residents at Emory School of Medicine and
Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
Health professionals have been a
major source of donations to Price throughout his political career. Individual
and political action committees in the healthcare sector have donated more than
$4.8 million to him. The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons is a top
donor group.
Bruce Siegel, president and CEO of America's Essential
Hospitals applauded the two top healthcare policy picks.
"Particularly
noteworthy about both nominees is their experience caring for low-income and
other vulnerable people, shaped by their work at hospitals with a safety net
role— essential hospitals," Siegel said.
The last HHS secretary with a
medical background was Dr. Louis Wade Sullivan, who served during President
George H.W. Bush's administration and was founding dean of the Morehouse School
of Medicine.
Other potential picks included Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal,
who served in HHS in the George W. Bush administration.
Price would
likely work closely with Paula Stannard, a former deputy general counsel and
acting general counsel at HHS, who reportedly has been tapped by the Trump team
to work more broadly on health reform initiatives. Stannard oversaw the food and
drug, civil rights and legislation divisions of the 450-attorney HHS Office of
the General Counsel. She also provided legal advice and counsel to senior HHS
officials, including secretaries Tommy Thompson and Michael Leavitt.
Both
Price's and Verma's nominations need to be confirmed by the Senate. The Trump
administration also will need congressional approval to repeal and replace the
ACA.