Top Dems spell out criteria for new HHS secretary

Two high-ranking Democrats sent a letter to President Trump outlining 51 priorities they’ll use to assess the next nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, foreshadowing a tough confirmation battle ahead.

Former HHS Secretary Tom Price resigned at the end of September after Politico detailed how his use of private and government jets had cost taxpayers more than a million dollars.

{mosads}Trump has yet to choose a nominee to fill the post, but it’s hard to see Trump choosing someone who fits Democrats’ criteria.

The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and the Senate Health Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), outlined those criteria in a letter to Trump Monday, indicating they will vigorously oppose any nominee who supports many of the administration’s policies and agenda items.

“We will closely scrutinize any potential nominee to ensure he or she is first and foremost a champion for policies that put patients and families first and stands up to this Administration’s harmful, politically-driven agenda,” the two wrote.

The list includes that the nominee should support outreach and education efforts to help consumers know their health care options. The Trump administration cut funding for ObamaCare enrollment advertisement by 90 percent and for in-person assistance by 41 percent.

Other Democratic priorities included ensuring women and families on Medicaid have “access to the qualified provider of their choice, including Planned Parenthood” and “protect and improve the Medicaid program.” The Republican bills to repeal and replace ObamaCare defunded Planned Parenthood for a year and would have made changes to Medicaid that Democrats argued would have significantly hurt the program.

Both the Senate Finance and Health committees held confirmation hearings for Price, but Finance is the panel that votes on the nomination.

The battle in committee was contentious, as Democrats boycotted the Price vote, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) temporarily suspended the rules to advance the nomination.