After a lengthy and heated debate, a majority Republican Senate voted 52-47 along party lines on Feb. 10 to confirm Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as the new US Health and Human Services secretary. Meanwhile, the president’s pick to lead the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma, is scheduled to appear for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 16. Verma, a conservative health policy consultant, is expected to work with Congress to scale back programs instituted for Medicare and Medicaid by the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who leads the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee, endorsed Price for the HHS...