Trump Chooses Price to Lead HHS

Rep. Tom Price was selected by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next secretary of HHS. The Republican congressman from Georgia currently chairs the House Budget Committee.

A former orthopedic surgeon, Price was first elected to the House in 2004. He has been a strong opponent of the Affordable Care Act, and his pick to lead HHS complements Republican commitments to repeal the health care law.

As secretary, Price would also oversee any major changes to Medicare, along with Seema Verma, Trump’s choice to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Verma is president and founder of SVC, a health policy consulting company. She helped develop a Medicaid program to cut costs for the state of Indiana under Gov. Mike Pence, now the vice president-elect, and also helped the state implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

Trump has not made any announcements regarding the FDA commissioner position, and the FDA reported that it has yet to receive any formal communication from the president-elect’s transition team.