Rep. Tom Price, MD, (R-Ga.), took office as HHS secretary on Feb. 10, 2017, after Vice President Mike Pence swore him in, the New York Times reports.
Here are five things to know:
1. Rep. Price won approval for the position in a 52-to-47 vote, in which no Democrats voted in favor of Rep. Price.
2. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) referred to the event as a "sad evening," NYT reports. Sen. Schumer said, "People will look back and say that the Republicans' war on seniors began at 2 a.m. Friday morning when the Senate unfortunately confirmed Representative Price."
3. VP Pence said Rep. Price represents the "most principled expert on healthcare policy in the House of Representatives, if not the entire Congress."
4. NYT reports Rep. Price has his work cut out for him in stabilizing the payer marketplace and implementing a plan on providing financial assistance to payers that lost a great sum of money under the ACA exchanges.
5. The U.S. Court of Claims ruled on behalf of Portland, Ore.-based Moda Health, saying the federal government must pay Moda $214 million for money the government owes under the risk-corridor program. The payer received nothing in 2015 and 2016 for its participation in the risk-corridor program.