Senate panel slated to vote on HHS nominee Price

A U.S. Senate panel is slated to vote tomorrow on whether to approve the Trump administration’s nominee to head the Health & Humans Services Dept., Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.).

Price, a physician who is chairman of the House budget committee and a member of the House Ways & Means panel, has drawn scrutiny for the timing of some of his investments. He bought shares in Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) just days before introducing a bill to delay a program designed to change the way large joint implants are paid for; after the vote, Zimmer Biomet’s political action committee donated to Price’s re-election campaign.

The the administration maintains that the stock purchases were made by a broker without Price’s knowledge; he later pledged to divest all healthcare-related stocks, including his stake in Zimmer Biomet, if confirmed as HHS secretary.

Yesterday Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance committee, said the panel is due to vote tomorrow on Price’s nomination. At a hearing last week before the committee, the nominee minimized the impact he would have on changing the healthcare insurance system if confirmed, saying it would be his task to carry out the will of Congress. Legislators in the Republican-led Congress are preparing legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Republicans generally support Price’s nomination, while Democrats are sharply critical. At last week’s hearing, ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that Price’s confirmation would “take America back to the dark days when healthcare was for the healthy and the wealthy.”

Material from Reuters was used in this report.

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