Trump to nominate Georgia Rep. Tom Price as health secretary

Rep. Tom Price (center) appeared in early 2016 before the House Rules Committee, when he sponsored legislation that would repeal President Obama’s signature health care law.

Tom Price is expected to be named President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of health and human services as early as today, according to a dozen Republican operatives and political figures with knowledge of the plan, putting a prominent critic of the Affordable Care Act in position to make vast changes to the law.

The lame-duck Congress is embarking on its final work session of 2016 as lawmakers face a December 9 deadline for spending legislation to keep the government running.

As a member of the House GOP Doctor’s Caucus, Price helped shape the healthcare plan that House Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanTrump picks Tom Price for Health secretary We can’t let tax extenders obstruct comprehensive reform Capitol Christmas tree arrives MORE now pitches as his alternative to ObamaCare.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards showered honors on Barry Jenkins’ coming-of-age drama “Moonlight” and kicked off the movie industry’s awards season with a drumbeat of speeches that rejected the politics.

Rumors are swirling that Tom is Donald’s latest cabinet member pick, and that he has selected him for the position of secretary of health and human services.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani are also in the mix for the job of America’s top diplomat, Trump aides say.

Though Price can’t directly repeal the ACA himself, his very clear disdain for it suggests he’ll do what he can to replace it with a plan that’s more appealing to the Republican party. In 2007, Price co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and later that year voted against a bill banning employers from discriminating against gay people. Trump, who takes office on January 20, is also holding talks with Mitt Romney on Tuesday in his second recent meeting with the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

“Premiums have gone up, not down”, Mr. Price said recently. Still, according to the October Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, equal numbers of Americans say they view the ACA favorably as those who say they view it unfavorably: 45 percent.

“Under Obamacare, the American people are paying more for health care and getting less – less access, less quality, and fewer choices”.

Price is also an outspoken opponent of abortion and has consistently received ratings of 100 percent from the National Right to Life Committee and scores of zero from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

However, Trump only narrowly won the district by a 48%-47% margin in November, leaving open the possibility of a competitive special election if Price is confirmed. The Republican congressman has proposed his own replacement for the law.

For Medicare, Price favors another idea long pushed by conservatives, switching it from a “defined benefit” to a “defined contribution”. He worked in private practice for almost 20 years and has taught residents at Emory School of Medicine and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. The last HHS secretary with a medical background was Louis Wade Sullivan who served during President George H.W. Bush’s administration and was Founding Dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

The president-elect nominated Price on Monday to head the agency.