The Senate Finance Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing next week for Seema Verma, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Chairman Orrin Hatch told Morning Consult on Thursday.
The Utah Republican declined to offer a specific date for her confirmation hearing. Verma will likely face heavy scrutiny from Democrats for her work on conservative reforms to several state Medicaid programs.
Verma was the architect behind cost-cutting reforms to Indiana’s Medicaid program, requiring recipients to make payments, undertaken when Vice President Mike Pence was governor. If confirmed, Verma, a health policy consultant, will likely play a crucial role in any GOP attempt to overhaul Medicaid.
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, is expected to be confirmed in a party-line vote on Thursday or Friday.
