Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., sat for four hours Tuesday before the powerful committee that will vote “promptly,” according to its top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, on whether to confirm him as President Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services.
While Price faced a variety of queries from Senate Finance lawmakers, a dominant pattern of questions and responses emerged. Democrats tried to pin him down on Obamacare and drug pricing promises that President Trump and other Republicans have made, and Price responded with vague and general promises to improve healthcare for everyone.
Price also faced a number of questions about his stock trades in medical companies while serving on healthcare-related congressional committees, an ethical concern Democrats have pressed. On Monday, eight of them asked for an investigation into whether Price has violated federal disclosure rules and insider trading laws.
The Georgia Republican appeared well-prepared for Tuesday’s hearing, rarely hesitating in his responses. Here’s a rundown of the questions he answered, the questions he sort of answered and the questions he ducked entirely.
1. Questions Price answered
• The ethics of his stock trades.
Top Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon kicked things off by pushing Price to explain why he undervalued some stocks when reporting them and to respond to concerns that he bought medical stocks at a discounted price not available to the public.
“Doesn’t this show bad judgment?” Wyden asked.
Price acknowledged that he had undervalued some of his stocks when reporting them, but he insisted it was unintentional and said it’s been corrected. And he said any discounts he received were available to all other investors, too.
“The reality is everything I did was above board, ethical, legal and transparent,” Price said. “There isn’t anything you have divulged here that hasn’t been public knowledge.”
• Whether he agrees with some anti-science views.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., pressed Price to state his views on whether abortions cause breast cancer, a view some abortion opponents have advanced, and whether vaccines cause autism, which Trump has claimed.
Price responded that he doesn’t agree with either of those positions, as they’re not backed by science. He said he’ll make sure “factual information is conveyed” if he is confirmed as HHS secretary.
2. Questions Price sort of answered
• What he would do with the Affordable Care Act’s new Medicare innovation center.
Price previously criticized the healthcare law’s innovation center, saying it’s too prescriptive on doctors. He laid out specific criticisms during the hearing and said he wants to move it in a direction that “makes sense for patients,” without specifying exactly what that might look like.
• Whether he’ll help Trump advance a policy allowing the federal government to directly negotiate lower prices with drug companies, an idea unpopular with Republicans and the industry.
Price indicated he would be willing to look at the idea, but only after being pressured by Wyden.
“I’m asking about a specific idea, and it’s not mine, it’s the president’s,” Wyden told Price. “And the question is: will you advocate to Republicans for authority to negotiate. It’s yes or no.”
Price noted that pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, already negotiate Medicare drug prices on behalf of the government.
“I was going to respond to say right now PBMs are doing that negotiation,” he said. “I think it’s important to look at it if there’s a better way to do that and if there is, I’m willing to do that.”
3. Questions Price didn’t answer
• Whether he still supports block grants for Medicaid and repealing its expansion.
As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Price presided over several proposals that included changing Medicaid to a block grant system, a policy shift that would essentially cap federal contributions to the program and require states to run their programs with a fixed amount of dollars.
Democrats, who hate the idea, tried to pin Price down on whether he would support that idea as HHS secretary. They also peppered him with questions on whether he still wants to roll back Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, as he suggested in his own plan to replace the law.
On both questions, Price ducked repeatedly. His responses went along these lines:
“Any reform or improvement I would envision for any portion of the Affordable Care Act would be one that would include an opportunity for individuals to gain coverage with the highest quality healthcare,” he said.
• Whether he will insist on replacing the law at the same time it’s repealed.
While Trump has said recently the healthcare law should be replaced as soon as it’s repealed, that presents a big challenge for congressional Republicans who need to come up with actual legislation.
Pressed on where he stands on the conundrum, and on whether any Americans might lose their health plans in the process, Price told Democrats that writing legislation would no longer be his job as HHS secretary.
“Will you guarantee that no one will lose coverage,” Wyden asked.
“What I commit to the American people is to keep patients the center of healthcare and what that means to me is making sure every American has access to affordable health coverage,” Price responded.
