Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, would not say whether he would support financial cuts to Medicare or Medicaid, when pressed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) a hearing in front of a Senate committee Wednesday.
“What the question presumes is that money is the metric,” Price said, after Warren had pointed to legislation he’s introduced in the past proposing major cuts to the programs.
“In my belief, from a scientific standpoint, if patients are not receiving care, even though we’re providing the resources, then it does not work for patients,” Price said.
Warren brought up the multiple times President-elect Donald Trump promised not to cut the programs on the campaign trail, while arguing, “He said he would not cut dollars from this program.”
“Senator, I believe that the metric ought to be the care to the patients are receiving,” Price said, later adding that money is “the wrong metric.”
Warren pressed one more time: “I’m not asking whether or not you think you have a better metric, I am asking you a question about dollars. Yes or no?”
“What we ought to do is put forward the resources in order to to take care of the patients,” Price said.