Healthcare Landscape under HHS Secretary-Designate Tom Price would be bleak

Washington, D.C. – Following is the statement of Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, on the nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to become Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the wake of his hearing today before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee:

“The healthcare landscape under HHS Secretary Tom Price would be a bleak one for millions upon millions of America’s families. As a Congressman, Price called for eliminating the ACA and its exchanges, reducing subsidies and out-of-pocket protections that make insurance affordable for millions. He called for weakening the health care safety net, especially Medicaid. And he has called for privatizing Medicare and eliminating the Medicaid expansion that offers health coverage to millions of working people in America.

“These and other proposals Price has outlined – like high-risk pools and health saving accounts – represent his apparent indifference, if not outright hostility, to the real-world concerns of millions of consumers who will again be left to the tender mercies of the insurance industry, if they can purchase coverage at all.

“We urge the Senate to reject Price’s nomination and demand a nominee who better recognizes our nation’s healthcare needs.”