January 17, 2017
The Honorable Lamar Alexander
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairman Alexander,
Independent Women’s Voice, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization for mainstream women, men and families, is proud to support the nomination of Rep. Tom Price as the next U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Rep. Price has spent his entire professional career working to provide health care to Americans, first in the medical field as an orthopedic surgeon, and then in the political realm as a Member of Congress. It would be difficult to name another legislator who has contributed more patient-centered, market-driven ideas to the health reform debate in modern times.
Our nation has suffered greatly under the Obama Administration’s HHS Department, due to the many thousands of pages of regulations promulgated pursuant to the Affordable Care Act and other misguided reforms. These regulations represent federal overreach into private health care and insurance, areas where states should have jurisdiction and individuals should have freedom.
The Obama Department of Health and Human Services has shown disregard for how these regulations unnecessarily increase the cost of health insurance and decrease our freedom. Not only have Americans seen restrictions on what type of insurance they can buy, but some Americans, particularly some employers, have also faced unconstitutional regulations under the current DHHS that violate religious liberty.
We are confident that as Secretary of HHS, Rep. Price will turn things around in this critical department. As a physician, he understands and cares greatly about maximizing all Americans’ access to all of the health services they need. He has often spoken out about federal intrusion into the sacrosanct doctor-patient relationship. As a legislator who has studied health policy intensely, he also understands how the government can change current policy to allow for greater competition, lower prices, and more individual freedom in health care.
Rep. Price has taken the rare step of introducing, many times, legislation to reform health care. He has offered a comprehensive replacement plan for the ACA in every Congress since 2009. His “Empowering Patients First Act” includes many of the ideas that pro-market, pro-patient organizations and individuals support: equalizing the tax code for individual and employer-sponsored insurance plans, increasing the use of HSAs, using high-risk pools to ensure coverage for those with pre-existing health conditions, and more. Price will work to support measures like these, and he will only use the powers of the Department of Health and Human Services in the interest of maximizing the healthcare freedom of the American people.
That’s why we need Rep. Tom Price to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services so that our nation can restore our broken healthcare system to one that is functional, competitive, affordable and accessible for everyone. IWV strongly urges the Senate to consider and confirm Rep. Tom Price as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Heather Higgins
President and CEO