PRESS RELEASE: Heartland Institute Experts React to Confirmation of Dr. Tom Price as Head of HHS

Published February 10, 2017

The United States Senate late Thursday night confirmed Tom Price as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Before entering politics – first in the Georgia state senate and then as a member of Congress since 2005 – Price, an orthopedic surgeon, ran a clinic and practiced medicine in the Atlanta area for 20 years.

The following statements from health care policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact New Media Specialist Billy Aouste at [email protected] and 312/377-4000 or (cell) 847/877-9100.


“Price’s confirmation is a crucial step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act, which Price himself has proposed to do in every legislative session of Congress since Obamacare became law. Now that Price is empowered, he must resist mission creep derailing his intentions to nix bad policies such as Obamacare.

“Price should urge President Trump and Congress to repeal Obamacare now, in its entirety, allowing state health care markets to work while Washington, DC decides on a replacement plan.”

Michael Hamilton
Research Fellow, Health Care Policy
The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor, Health Care News
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“We should be amazed that 47 senators voted against an orthopedic surgeon and former chairman of the House Budget Committee to lead HHS, but of course it’s no surprise at all. For those on the political left, qualification for office means nothing but strict adherence to an agenda of ever-increasing government.

“The mass opposition against the superbly qualified Tom Price, with all the ‘no’ votes coming from Democrats, shows that nearly half the Senate cares far more about expanding government than solving the nation’s problems. That’s not ‘divided government,’ it’s just another progressive, elitist tantrum.”

S.T. Karnick
Director of Research
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“Dr. Tom Price – an orthopedic surgeon, recent chairman of the House Budget Committee, and a tireless advocate for patient-centered health care – is the best choice President Trump could have made for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Dr. Price will bring a wealth of knowledge to this important position and bring us closer to the reforms American health care has needed for several decades.

“Congratulations to Dr. Tom Price!”

Dr. Richard Armstrong
Treasurer, Member of the Board of Directors Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation
Policy Advisor, The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
906/293-9196


The Heartland Institute is a 33-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.