Trump nominates Price as HHS secretary, Verma as CMS administrator

President-elect Donald Trump today nominated Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary, and health care consultant Seema Verma to serve as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator. “As health care continues to evolve and as care becomes more patient centered, Dr. Price’s experience both as a surgeon, along with practicing at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “He has spent most of his career working in hospitals as an orthopedic surgeon, and his experience as a provider of care will serve patients well in this new role. We have worked with him as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and as Chairman of the House Budget Committee. His clinical knowledge along with his congressional experience make him an impressively qualified candidate for HHS secretary. We look forward to working with him in his new capacity to advance better health for the patients and communities we serve.” Pollack said Verma’s experience with the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 “gives her a deep understanding of the importance of health care coverage for the patients served by hospital and health systems. She has used innovative models in Indiana to expand coverage for patients and that expertise will be valuable at the national level. We look forward to working with her in her new role at CMS.”