Senate HELP Confirmation Hearing for Price Tentatively Scheduled

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is planning to hold a confirmation hearing on President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), on Jan. 18, according to an aide to Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

The committee will officially announce the hearing a week in advance, the aide said.

While the HELP committee holds a courtesy hearing on the HHS nominee, the Finance Committee receives paperwork from the nominee and votes on the nomination. The Finance Committee, led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), will also consider and vote on the nomination of Seema Verma to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

While the Finance Committee has not yet set dates for hearings, committee spokesman Aaron Fobes said the committee has received three years of tax returns and a completed questionnaire from both Price and Verma.

Democratic Senators are planning to focus on Price’s support for turning Medicare into a premium support system during the vetting process, and he is one of eight nominees they plan to target, according to the Washington Post.