Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) on Tuesday said that he would oppose Donald Trump’s nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to lead the Department of Health and Human Services over Price’s support for privatizing Medicare.
“Tom Price has led the charge to privatize Medicare, and for this reason, I cannot support his nomination,” Donnelly said in a statement. “I am ready to work with anyone who wants to improve access to quality health care for Hoosier families and seniors, but the nomination of Tom Price would put us on a direct path to end Medicare as we know it, which would raise health care costs and break a fundamental promise to seniors. I have fought to protect Medicare, and I will continue to oppose efforts to privatize Medicare or turn it into a voucher program.”
Price, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has supported House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposal to privatize Medicare, and said earlier this month that the House would move on changes to Medicare in mid-2017. He has also been an outspoken critic of Obamacare and has offered several plans to replace the health care law.
Although I am fortunately not a Hoosier I thank you for doing this!
This is exactly how Democrats should oppose Price: Not on repealing Obamacare, but on the threat to Medicare (and, implicitly at least, to Social Security).
And remember, this is a Dem Senator that lefty purity patrols tend to be out to get! If ever we need a reminder about why we can’t afford that nonsense right now, this is it.
Hoosiers won’t get too riled up unless the STD riders on their policies are eliminated.