To: The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Donald Trump
Tell Congress and the Administration: Investigate Secretary Price’s Scandalous Stock Purchases
Former Congressman Tom Price was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services despite evidence that he attempted to profit off his office. As a Congressman, Price voted against legislation to make healthcare cheaper for Americans while investing in, and receiving donations from, big-pharma companies that stood to profit from legislation he pushed. DEMAND an investigation of Tom Price’s damaging and potentially illegal stock trades and stop him from abusing his new position.
Why is this important?
Despite Tom Price's scandalous stock purchases, Senate Republicans confirmed his nomination in the dark of night and put him in charge of America’s healthcare system, knowing full well he’ll attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicare and Medicaid. But the fight does not end here.
We need an investigation into how Price used his position in Congress to make himself richer and America poorer and sicker.
Since Senate Republicans failed to properly vet Tom Price, these agencies can and should:
• Government Accountability Office
• Securities Exchange Commission
• Office of Congressional Ethics
• Health and Human Services Inspector General
• Department of Justice Inspector General
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Congress can still make this right - these committees can and should investigate Secretary Price:
• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
• Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
Here's a refresher on Tom Price's potentially illegal activities:
• When the Obama Administration introduced a rule to make cancer and arthritis treatments cheaper, Price co-sponsored legislation to block the changes. Meanwhile, he had invested between $6,000-$90,000 in the six companies that opposed Obama’s rule.
• When a regulation was proposed to improve Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for hip and knee implants, Price delayed the regulation. Turns out, only 48 hours earlier, he had bought $15,000 of stock in Zimmer Biomet, a company that would have suffered from the new rule. Zimmer Biomet then donated to Price’s campaign.
• Despite telling the Finance Committee he only purchased shares of Australian biomedical firm Innate Immunotherapies that were open to everyone, he actually bought between $50,000 and $100,000 of stock at a 12% discount offered to only 20 US investors. Four months later, he voted for legislation to benefit the company, a potential violation of the STOCK Act.
• In May 2016, Price introduced a law to block changes to Medicare reimbursements to make walkers and hospital beds cheaper. A week later, he purchased $15,000 of shares in Blackstone which owns Apria that sells this equipment. Apria spent up to $100,000 lobbying members of Congress to support Price’s bill between May and June.
• Who knows what else he could be hiding? Since 2012, he’s traded over $300,000 in shares of 40 health-related companies, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
We need an investigation into how Price used his position in Congress to make himself richer and America poorer and sicker.
Since Senate Republicans failed to properly vet Tom Price, these agencies can and should:
• Government Accountability Office
• Securities Exchange Commission
• Office of Congressional Ethics
• Health and Human Services Inspector General
• Department of Justice Inspector General
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Congress can still make this right - these committees can and should investigate Secretary Price:
• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
• Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
Here's a refresher on Tom Price's potentially illegal activities:
• When the Obama Administration introduced a rule to make cancer and arthritis treatments cheaper, Price co-sponsored legislation to block the changes. Meanwhile, he had invested between $6,000-$90,000 in the six companies that opposed Obama’s rule.
• When a regulation was proposed to improve Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for hip and knee implants, Price delayed the regulation. Turns out, only 48 hours earlier, he had bought $15,000 of stock in Zimmer Biomet, a company that would have suffered from the new rule. Zimmer Biomet then donated to Price’s campaign.
• Despite telling the Finance Committee he only purchased shares of Australian biomedical firm Innate Immunotherapies that were open to everyone, he actually bought between $50,000 and $100,000 of stock at a 12% discount offered to only 20 US investors. Four months later, he voted for legislation to benefit the company, a potential violation of the STOCK Act.
• In May 2016, Price introduced a law to block changes to Medicare reimbursements to make walkers and hospital beds cheaper. A week later, he purchased $15,000 of shares in Blackstone which owns Apria that sells this equipment. Apria spent up to $100,000 lobbying members of Congress to support Price’s bill between May and June.
• Who knows what else he could be hiding? Since 2012, he’s traded over $300,000 in shares of 40 health-related companies, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.