Tom Price, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, says he would divest himself of financial holdings that might raise conflicts of interest if he is confirmed to that position, Stat News reports. HHS oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health, among other agencies.
In a letter this week to an ethics official at HHS, Price says that he would resign from his positions at Chattahoochee Associates and the American Medical Association, and that within 90 days, he would divest his interest in some 40 companies. The companies he names include Alphabet, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Pfizer. Price says, though, that he would keep a financial interest in Chattahoochee Associates, though not provide services to the firm, and limited partnerships in Diagnostic Ventures of Roswell and RMC3, which own property rented to healthcare-related tenants.
Stat News adds that Price's confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is scheduled for next Wednesday and that committee chair Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) expects Price to be confirmed by the middle of next month.