Rep. Tom Price has proven to be at least as scandal-plagued as any nominee from popular vote loser Donald Trump, with his history of profiting from stock buys in companies he then writes legislation to benefit. That, as well as his long-standing opposition to women's health, universal coverage, and publicly-funded Medicare and Medicaid, were the twin topics of another truncated hearing in Sen. Lamar Alexander's Health and Education Committee.
On the key issue of his stock trades, Price faltered and contradicted the Trump transition team's defense, which said that Price had nothing to do with the purchases but left it all up to a broker. One of the key buys was in Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech firm after receiving information from New York Rep. Chris Collins, a board member of that company. Collins, a Republican, is also a key member of Trump's transition team, and has been caught bragging about making millionaires off of his stock tips (which some might call insider trading). Okay, back to Price, one of those potential millionaires made by Collins tips.
Price’s testimony shows that he does indeed involve himself in the purchase and sale of his own stocks, at least when it came to Innate Immunotherapeutics. Trump transition spokesman Phillip Blando said in an email that Price asked his Morgan Stanley broker to open “an account separate from his primary broker-directed account at Morgan Stanley in order to make the purchase.” […]
Under questioning by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Health, Education & Labor Committee, Price denied that he had received nonpublic information, but asserted that he decided to purchase stock in Innate Immunotherapeutics after hearing from Collins.
“[Collins] talked about the company and the work they were doing in trying to solve the challenge of progressive secondary multiple sclerosis,” Price said. “I studied the company for a period of time and felt it had significant merit and purchased the initial shares on the stock exchange.”
On this, Sen. Al Franken hit hard: "It really begs credulity, sir, when you say you did not know that you got a discount on this. I think that our job in this body and in Congress and in government is to avoid the appearance of conflict and, boy, you have not done this."
On policy, Price did little better.
He refused to go as far as Trump in saying that "everybody" would get health insurance in a Republican plan. Instead, he resorted to the weasel word of "access," to which Sen. Bernie Sanders replied "I have access to buying a $10 million home. I don't have the money to do that." Price also declined to commit to protecting people with pre-existing conditions when pressed by Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, and talked about using "high risk pools," the facile Republican answer to the possibility of coverage existing, but not the reality of people having it.
He fared no better in his test on Medicare and Medicaid under sharp questioning from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who asked him repeatedly if he would "guarantee to this committee that you will safeguard President-Elect trump's promise and while you are HHS secretary you will not use your authority to carry out a single dollar of cuts to medicare or medicaid eligibility or benefits?" He would not make that commitment, prompting Warren to give him some advice: "You might want to print out President-elect Trump's statement—'I am not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid' and post that above your desk in your new office because Americans will be watching to see if you follow through on that it promise."
Price is facing a second hearing with the Senate Finance Committee next week.