A report from Buzzfeed and Kaiser Health News shows that Rep. Tom Price, Trump's pick to head HHS, has a history of seeking special treatment for medical industry donors. A few quick hits from the budget hawk:
- Introduced a bill to delay Medicare cuts for equipment like hospital beds and wheelchairs after accepting more than $50k in donations from the industry.
- Accepted more than $20k from home health companies, an industry notably prone to fraud, while pushing for bills on their behalf.
- Repeatedly put forth legislation designed to cut malpractice cases and clarify the tax status of traveling doctors. One of his biggest local donors is a hospital staffing company.
Why it matters: None of this is likely to derail Price's nomination, but it's plenty of fodder for Democratic questions about his ethics at the confirmation hearings. With other questions already surrounding his medical stock trades, he doesn't need that kind of drumbeat.