Health care business on the House and Senate floors will be slow this week, but steps to confirm the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) top posts are speeding up.
Last week, former Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) was confirmed as secretary of HHS. America’s Essential Hospitals issued a statement following his confirmation. Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Finance on Feb. 16 will consider the nomination of Seema Verma as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
GOP leaders hope that having new HHS leadership in place will aid work to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, is slowly working to encourage fellow Republicans to make sound and steady decisions as they repeal the law. Alexander believes the process to fully replace the law in a practical fashion could take a few years, which is a more moderate approach than many of his colleagues might prefer, according to reports.
