Come back here to try to make a difference. I want to congratulate you on the difference you have made. Now one of the questions i would ask you is why youre willing to leave a place with so much responsibility and background and capability to be willing to be the secretary of health and Human Services. Thank you, senator. When i think about the mission of the department of health and Human Services, which is to improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of the American People, its what ive literally spent my life trying to do. And so to have the opportunity to participate if confirmed, to be to serve as the secretary of health and Human Services and to try to guide that organization in a direction that would further fulfill that mission, i cant think of anything more exciting for fulfilling. I think you have the background for doing that too,
with the wide range of experience you had between the different practices and hospitals and then coming here and going through a number of Different Committee situations. But what youre about to go through is a rather intense, and then thats followed by probably the most productive part, if senators happen to read the answers, and thats that we get to do written questions as well, which we hope youll provide a Rapid Response on. But those arent nearly as much fun for the panelists because they arent in public. Ill move to some questions that are a little bit more related here. Because we begin the serious and challenging task of restoring these Health Insurance markets which are teetering on the brink now. Some are collapsing. Some counties you cant get coverage. In wyoming theres only one provider. And its my understanding that the Incoming Administration may have the ability to make some
key Policy Changes immediately. Some of the most critical changes for short term stabilization of the markets might include reducing the number of special enrollment periods and requiring up front verification or aligning grace periods for nonpayment of premiums with state law. My understanding from those in the Insurance Business is that some targeted actions by the department of health and Human Services may provide some meaningful changes that could impact premiums for the next year. Are those some options that you might consider . Absolutely. I think as the chairman mentioned, the insurers are deciding right now, as they come forward in march and april, what the premium levels, for calendar year 2018. What they need to hear from all of us, i believe, is a level of support and stability in the market. The kinds of things that make it so theyre able to provide product to patients out there. You mentioned that there are counties in your state where theres only one provider. There are five states in this nation where theres only one insurance provider. There are onethird of the counties in this country that only have one insurance provider. We must as policymakers, as folks administering these programs, we must ask resources, Whats Going On . Where are the problems out there . That may work for the insurers in certain instances. It may work for government. It doesnt work for patients. So if we keep the patients at the center of all of this, well get to the right answer. Thats what i hope to do with each and every one of you. I appreciate that. And i got to work for years with Senator Kennedy On Biologics and biosimilars and having the requirements for their biosimilarity and interchangeability has needed some additional information. The fda has issued Guidance Documents since the law passed. But they havent set policy on
interchangeability with the reference project. I was concerned that in 2017, having gone through two full president ial terms, just yesterday we finally got a draft of the fdas interchangeability policy. Ill ask that question, since my time has expired, in writing. Thank you. Thank you, senator enzi. Senator sanders. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Congressman price, thanks for being here and for the conversation we had the other day. Thank you. Congressman, on may 7, 2015 let me begin by saying all of us know that we have come through a very unusual election process. President elect trump received almost 3 million votes less than secretary clinton. But he won the electoral college. Hes going to be inaugurated this week. He won a number of states by rather slim margins. During the course of his campaign, mr. Trump said over and over again that he would not cut Social Security, not cut medicare, not cut medicaid. Let me read some quotes. On may 7th, 2015, mr. Trump tweeted, i was the first and only potential gop candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, medicare, and medicaid. On april 18th, 2015, he said, quote, every republican wants to do a big number on Social Security, they want to do it on medicare, they want to do it on medicaid, and we cant do that, and its not fair to the people who have been paying in for years and now all of a sudden they want it to be cut, end of quote. August 10th of 2015 mr. Trump said, quote, i will say medicare, medicaid, and Social Security will be saved without cuts. We have to do it. People have been paying in for years and now many of these candidates want to cut it. End quote. March 29th, 2016, trump said, you know, paul ryan wants to knock out Social Security, knock it down, way down. He wants to knock medicare way down. And frankly, well, two things. Number one, youre going to lose the election if youre going to do that. Im not going to cut it. And im not going to raise ages. And im not going to do all of the things they want to do. But they want to really cut it. And they want to cut it very substantially. The republicans. And im not going to do that. On and on and on. Point being, this is not something he said in passing. I think it is likely he won the election because millions of Working Class people and Senior Citizens heard him say he was not going to cut Social Security, medicare, and medicaid. Congressman price, a very simple question. Is the President Elect, mr. Trump, going to keep his word to the American People and not cut Social Security, medicare, and medicaid . Or did he lie to the American People . I havent had extensive discussions with him about the comments he made. But i have no reason to believe hes changed his position. So you are telling us that to the best of your knowledge, mr. Trump will not cut Social Security, medicare, and medicaid . As i say, i have no reason to believe that position has changed. Congressman price, quoting mr. Trump again, or at least paraphrasing him, just last week he said, roughly speaking, pharma is getting away with murder. Do you recall that tweet . I do. Okay. There are many of us on this side of the aisle who are working on legislation that would do at least two things. Number one, end the absurdity of the American People being ripped off by the Pharmaceutical Industry who two years ago made five Companies Made 50 billion in profits while one out of Five Americans cant afford to fill the prescription their doctors write. Will you and will thePresident Elect join us in legislation we are working on which, number one, will allow medicare to negotiate prices with the Drug Companies and lower prices, and number two, allow the American People to bring in less expensive medicine from canada and other countries . Is that something you will work with us on . The issue of drug pricing and drug costs is one of great concern to all americans. I think its important to appreciate that in a couple of areas weve had significant success, whether in the generic area, where costs i dont mean to interrupt, we dont have a lot of time. We are paying far higher prices for Prescription Drugs than anywhere else in the world. Do you disagree with that . I would have to look at the statistics. There are a lot of reasons for that. If we get to the root causes one of the root causes is that every other major country on earth negotiates drug prices
with the Pharmaceutical Industry. In our country, the Drug Companies can raise their prices. Today they could double their prices. There is no law to prevent them from doing that. Will you work with us so that medicare negotiates prices with the Pharmaceutical Industry . You have my commitment to work with you and others to make certain that the drug pricing is reasonable and that individuals across this land have access to the medications that they need. Wasnt quite the answer to the question that i asked. Congressman price, the United States of america is the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right. Canada does it. Every major country in europe does it. Do you believe that health care is a right of all americans whether they are rich or they are poor . Should people, because they are americans, be able to go to the doctor when they need to, be able to go into a hospital,
because theyre americans . Yes, were a compassionate society. No, were not a compassionate society. In terms of our relationship to poor and working people, our record is worse than virtually every other country in the world. We have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any other major country on earth and half of our senior Older Workers have nothing set aside for retirement. I dont think compared to other countries we are particularly compassionate. But my question is, in canada, in other countries, all people have the right to get health care. Do you believe we should move in that direction . If you want to talk about other countries Health Care Systems, there are consequences to the decisions that theyve made, just as there are consequences to the decisions weve made. I look forward to working with you to make certain that every single american has access to the highest quality care and coverage that is possible. Has access to does not mean that they are guaranteed health care. I have access to buying a 10 million home. I dont have the money to do that. Thats why we believe its appropriate to put in place a system that gives every person
the financial feasibility to be able to purchase the coverage that they want for themselves and for their family, again, not what the Government Forces them to buy. But if they well, thats a longer story. Thank you very much. Thank you. Senator hatch. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Welcome to the committee. Having worked with you over the years weve found you to be always very, very knowledgeable. Thank you. Very up front. Very straightforward. Very honest. And somebody who really understands the Health Care System in this country. And youre perfectly situated to be able to help turn it around and get it so it works. We hear a lot from our other side about how bad that system is and so forth. Ive got to tell you, i dont think its very good myself. And weve got to work on it and get it done right. But boy, i sure would like to have you right there helping to get it done. Youre one of the really premier people in this whole congress and in the world, as a matter of fact, understanding what needs
to be done, yet recognizing the problems of getting it done. Now, dr. Price, some of my colleagues have criticized you for healthrelated Stock Holdings while serving in the house. Not only do house rules not prohibit members from trading stocks, but it is also not an uncommon practice for members of congress. In fact there are members on this committee who have, as i understand it, traded individual Health Stocks while serving on this committee. This appears to be nothing more than a hypocritical attack on your good character. And i personally resent it. Because you have always disclosed. Let me say this, can you confirm that you have always followed the law relating to trading in stocks while serving as an of me congress . Thank you, sir. Everything that we have done has been above board, transparent, and legal. As you and all members of this
office of Government Ethics that for every Cabinet Nominee looks at possessions and holdings and the like and makes a recommendation as to what that Cabinet Member must do to make certain that there are no conflicts of interest. The office of Government Ethics has looked at our holdings and given advice about divesting from certain Stock Holdings to make sure there is no Conflict Of Interest. We have read those, agreed to those, signed those. That document is online for everybody to see so that everybody is absolutely certain that there will be no Conflict Of Interest whatsoever. Thank you. And you followed their advice. Absolutely. Dr. Price, the collapse of obamacare has exacerbated our Nations Health care problems. Too frequently my colleagues and i have seen european idealism strangle functional insurance design with cost prohibitive measures. Despite these failed reforms, i
dont think we can lose sight of the Broader Health system that is at risk. For example ratio Disease Patients dont have access to lifesaving treatments because policies that stem from Obamacare Prevent Investments in innovative therapies that can cure and save lives. This is an issue that im deeply passionate about. Dr. Price, what steps do you believe will improve the pipeline for rare disease therapies to bring treatments and cures to patients in desperate need of hope . The Orphan Drug Act which passed i think 30 years ago or so really has revolutionized the ability to treat rare diseases. What it did was make the United States the leader in coming forward with treatments for rare diseases. And i think that there are things we can do in terms of patent production, in terms of liability, in terms of ince
incentivi incentivizeation. We have a lot of drugs coming through because of that bill, we put some incentives into effect and suddenly theres an explosion in orphan drugs for Population Groups less than 200,000 people. It was an important bill. Didnt cost a lot of money but it was a republican bill. A lot of Success Stories in the country. Dr. Price, one of the central duties of the Hhs Secretary is to be diligent and thoughtful when considering if federal regulation is necessary in assessing whether or not the regulations impede research, development, and innovation. Over the years, the Regulatory Infrastructure guiding Dietary Supplements has changed dramatically. Do you recognize the importance of Dietary Supplements in helping americans maintain Healthy Lifestyles . Absolutely. Will you commit to me and other members of the committee to ensure appropriate regulation and implementation of the Dietary Supplementation Act so we can assure consumers condition to have access to Safe Products . This is one of those areas where its incredibly important to gain the information that you refer to, to gather the individuals that know the most about this area, whether its consumers, whether its those providing the product to market, make certain that there are protections for unadulterated products. Its vital that we get this right. Ill tell you this. I have to commend donald trump for picking you. Thank you. Youre clearly one of the premier people in all of congress who understands the problems of health care. And you have the professional background that i dont think any other member of congress
could match to help solve the problems we have. We have a real messy situation here. Obamacare has not really helped. Do you think obamacare has helped . I think some of the things that have occurred with the passage of the aca have improved certain areas. The coverage is certainly improved. But the consequences of that that many people, as i mentioned before, have coverage but they dont have care. There are so many things about just the decisionmaking process, who decides about her health care, should it be the federal government or should it be patients and families and doctors. And we certainly believe the latter as opposed to the former. I take it you believe that Getting Health Care closer to the peop