Tag: Rep. Tom Price

WASHINGTON - The 14 Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee have voted to confirm Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, according to news reports.Price's confirmation now goes to the Senate floor for a full vote.Democrats made headlines on Jan. 31, when they boycotted the vote on Price scheduled to take place at 10 that morning, saying they wanted more time to ask questions about his background. An article in the Wall Street Journal reported...

WASHINGTON - The 14 Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee have voted to confirm Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, according to news reports.Price's confirmation now goes to the Senate floor for a full vote, likely next week.Democrats on the committee tried to block the confirmation for a second day by boycotting the vote, but Republicans changed the rules that required Democrats to be present for a quorum, Reuters reported.Democrats...

WASHINGTON - Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have boycotted a vote on President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., according to news reports.The committee was scheduled to vote at 10 a.m.Democrats boycotted the vote due to “truly alarming news” of a Wall Street Journal report that Price received a special discounted rate for stocks of an Australian pharmaceutical company called Innate Immunotherapies, Sen....

WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., nominee for secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, told members of the Senate Finance Committee that he thinks the agency should focus audits on weeding out blatant fraud instead of verifying medical necessity. The comments came in response to a question from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, about what HHS can do to protect Medicaid from scammers, according to an article on Law360. The Senate Finance committee will vote soon on whether to accept Price's...

I've been making a round of calls to HME industry consultants today to see what they're working on with their provider clients. (Managing Editor Theresa likes to call the story that I write from these calls “Consultant's corner.”) I can't say that I've dug up much yet. I've been hearing a lot about audits, but that's pretty much business as usual for HME providers these days. A number of consultants I've spoken with have mentioned the anticipation surrounding the new administration and...

WASHINGTON - A key Senate committee will reportedly hold a confirmation hearing for Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.An aide to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, says the hearing could be held Jan. 18, according to news reports.The HELP Committee is one of two committees of jurisdiction for the confirmation process....

YARMOUTH, Maine - The overwhelming majority of respondents to a recent HME Newspoll (85%) say the nomination of Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to the top post at the Department of Health and Human Services could signal the start of good things for the HME industry.“It is an exciting time for the HME industry,” said one poll respondent. “I cannot recall a time when we have had a proponent of our industry who understands it in the way that he does at this level of government.”Price,...

It's not everyday someone who has such close ties to the HME industry gets appointed to a top post like secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I mean, has it happened, ever? Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty talked to industry stakeholders on what it might mean to have Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as HHS secretary. That story will be in Monday's HME Newswire, but here's a sneak peak. I was talking to Seth Johnson of Pride Mobility Products this week about a complex rehab-related provision...

WASHINGTON - As the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., would have a huge agenda—one that, industry stakeholders believe, could better support HME.Price, a six-term congressman and a longtime champion of HME, has been tapped by President-Elect Donald Trump to take over the huge agency. Price's resume includes introducing multiple bills to create an alternative to the competitive bidding program called the market-pricing program, and to soften...

WASHINGTON - President Elect Donald Trump has named Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a long-time champion of the HME industry and its efforts to reform Medicare's competitive bidding program, as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to news reports.Price, a six-term congressman, is a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act and, according to The New York Times, has been studying how to dismantle and replace Obamacare for the past six years. He serves on the influential...