Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Former HHS Secretary Price Asks Ga. Governor To Name Him To Senate Seat
Former Health Secretary Tom Price entered the sweepstakes to be Georgia鈥檚 next U.S. Senator by submitting his resume with Gov. Brian Kemp鈥檚 office for the soon-to-be-vacated seat held by Johnny Isakson. Price, a former six-term congressman, confirmed to the AJC that he applied, making him the latest high-profile figure to formally seek the spot. Other applicants include U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols 鈥� and many more are expected to join them. (Bluestein and Hallerman, 9/26)
Price, a former six-term Republican congressman, was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as HHS secretary at the outset of his administration. He resigned in September 2017 after POLITICO revealed his use of private and government planes for travel. (Arkin, 9/26)
Kemp will soon get to pick a replacement for retiring Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who is stepping down in December because of health issues. Price is an orthopedic surgeon from Atlanta鈥檚 northern suburbs who represented Georgia鈥檚 6th Congressional District from 2005 to 2017, before stepping down to join President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration. He served for roughly seven months as health secretary before being forced out in September 2017 over the travel expenditures. Trump was also angry with Republicans鈥� failure to repeal former President Barack Obama鈥檚 health care overhaul. (Nadler, 9/26)