overtime? >> how can i pull myself away? >> we love that about you. go to foxnews.com/outnumbered, also facebook.com, we are back on tv tomorrow at noon eastern, "happening now" starts right now. >> jenna: thank you, fox news alert on a whole lot of action at capitol hill today, several confirmation hearings underway. welcome to the second hour of "happening now," i am jenna lee. >> jon: i am jon scott. let's check out those hearings, congressman tom price on the hussy right now to get confirmed as health and human services secretary, getting grilled by elizabeth warren, democrat of massachusetts questioning him now. we will listen in. >> the notion you have some metric other than the dollars that they need to provide these services. you might want to print out president-elect trump's statement, i am not going to cut medicare or medicaid, and post that above your desk in your new

office because americans will be watching to see if you follow through on that promise. i also would like to follow up on senator al franken's question, i think there was something there that did not quite get answered. as you know, congressman, the one goal of the affordable care act was to push the healthcare industry to provide higher quality care at lower costs. and under the aca, medicare was recently allowed to change the way that it pays hospitals for hip and knee replacements, to something called a bundle. that means medicare pays a set price for the care associated with hip and knee replacement and then the hospitals, not congress, will decide the most effective implant, reduce second surgery, better find infections being fought, how to better spend their money to deliver better service at higher cost.

i supported this change because the research shows that it really means to get better care at lower prices, but i know that the policy is controversial because it affects how hospitals are paid, which in turn affects how much money the manufacturers of these knee and hip replacements makes paired one of these companies is one of the companies raised by senator franken, and they are one of the world's leading manufacturers of hips and knees, and they make more money if they can charge higher prices and sell more of their products. the company knows this, and so does the stock market, so march 17, 2016, you purchased stock exactly six days after you bought the stock on march 23rd, 2016, he introduced a bill and the house called the "hip act" that would require hhs secretary to suspend regulations affecting the payment for hip and knee replacements. is that correct? >> i think they'd be pci program

to which you referred, i am a stronger supporter because it keeps the decision-making -- >> on the asking why you support it, i'm just asking did you buy stockton introduced the bill that would be helpful to the company you just bought stock in? >> the stock was bought by a broker who was making the decisions. i was not making those decisions. >> you are saying you'd were not making those decisions. let me make sure i understand this. these are your stocks traded, listed under your name. >> they are made under my behalf. >> is a release defined, passively managed mutual fund? >> no, it is a direct broker. it is a broker directed account. >> blind trust? so let's just be clear, this is not just a stockbroker, someone you pay to handle the paperwork. this is someone who buys stock at your direction. this is someone who buys and sells the stock you want them to

buy and sell. >> not true. that is not true, senator. >> because you decided not to tell them, wink wink, not not, we are supposed to believe that? >> members of this committee, the manner of the members of this committee -- i understand, it is important to appreciate that is the case. >> i want to understand. when you found out that your broker had made this trade without your knowledge, did you reprimand her? >> what i did was comply -- >> did you fire her? did you sell the stock? >> what i did was comply with the rules of the house and ethical and legal and an aboveboard manner and in a transparent way. >> time has expired, senator warren. >> i believe the senator went over by 2 minutes, did i miss read the clock? >> by 2 minutes. >> i've just burned another 15 seconds. >> keep burning them, you will be up to 2 minutes.

>> so your periodic transaction report notes that you were notified of this trade on april 4th, 2016. did you take additional actions after that date to advance your plan to help the company that you now own stock in? >> i am offended by the insinuation, senator. >> let me read what you did. you may be offended, but this is what you did. congressional records show that after you were personally notified of this trade, which you said you did not know about in advance, that you added 23 out of your bills 24 cosponsors that also after you were notified of this stock transaction, you sent a letter to cmf calling on them to seize all current and future plan mandatory initiatives under the center of medicare and medicaid innovation, and so just because there was no misunderstanding about who you are trying to help, you specifically manage dimension list placement. >> 2 minutes is up.

>> senator warren. who is next? senator johnny isakson has 3 minutes. >> i want to offer those minutes, i dramatically respect everyone on this committee and the nominee, but it is important for us to understand under the disclosure rules and the way they operate, any of us could make the mistakes that we would make. i am sure that he had no idea that he was owning stocks in philip morris, but he has the wisdom of disclosing the disclosure, so it is entirely possible for any of us to have someone make an investment on our behalf and asked not know where that money is invested because of the very way it works. i don't say that to anyway embarrass mr. franken, but to make a point that any of us who have mutual, investment management, it is entirely possible for us not to no knowo trying to imply someone is obfuscating something or otherwise denying something that is a fact is just not the fair thing to do. >> this is different than mutual

funds. >> it is an investment in philip morris. >> my question was about -- >> senator, your time has been generously -- senator, i'm sorry, senator hassan. >> i am happy to lead, but i think senator cassidy is next coming and he just came back in. >> he did, i was going back and forth. i will be glad, that is generous of you. >> then thank you. congressman price, thank you for being here this morning, mr. chairman, ricky members, thank you for the opportunity to participate. as you and i discussed, congressman, we share a concern for patients. my husband and i have two kids and our adult son at times has had up to ten doctors and a couple dozen medications, so the

family knows the strengths and weaknesses of our healthcare system very, very well. as governor, i was pleased to work with members of both parties to build on the example that senator young talked about in indiana do have a bipartisan new hampshire specific medicaid expansion plan that is providing coverage now to over 50,000 hard-working granite stators, so i have seen the advantages of the affordable care act and the flex ability that the affordable care act gives stateg with republican legislature to pass it. it is that context that i bring to this series of questions. first of all, as we talked about, opioid overdose deaths have been on the rise for several years and have hit new hampshire particularly hard. we have about the second highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country.

under the medicaid expansion program that i just talked about, made possible only by the affordable care act, thousands of new hampshire citizens are getting the opportunity to get treatment for substance use disorder. i talked with one of them last week, a woman named ashley who had had in addiction for almost a decade, medicaid expansion gets passed under the affordable care act, she got treatment, and she is now in recovery. after a year on medicaid, which by the way, we have done in a particular way so that it actually has strengthened our insurance market in new hampshire, more insurers came in as a result of the way we did medicaid expansion, anyway, she is now working, and she has just switched over to private insurance because she has employer-provided insurance. so you have proposed repealing medicaid expansion in the budget that you proposed, so yes or no, can you guarantee that you will

make sure that americans with substance use disorders who have gotten insurance through medicaid expansion just like ashley did will not lose their health insurance? >> i enjoyed our conversation as well, in the subjects we delved into. i think it is absolutely imperative that we as a nation make sure every single individual have access to the kind of mental health and substance abuse challenges that they have. >> is that a guarantee that you will find funds to actually provide the treatment? >> guarantee that i am committed to making certain we address that need which is so vital and important across this land. >> i'm just concerned you are not going to be able to back up that guarantee if the affordable care act is repealed. i'm concerned about the impact that will have on the states and people like ashley who need the coverage. i also just want to talk about whether you agree that people with health insurance should have some very basic essential coverages like checkups at the

doctor's office, do you think health insurance coverage should provide for that? >> i think that as we mentioned with choices for patients to be able to select the kind of coverage they want instead of someone else deciding for them. it is so a very important we remember that the center of all of these discussions is a patient. the patient knows best what he or she needs, and that is the imperative that i would bring to you that i am committed to vacation that patients have the choices available, in if they choose to select that kind of coverage, it ought to be available. >> if insurance companies do not offer it like substance use disorders, so there is a section of the affordable care act that requires insurers to cover substance use treatment, they did not used to do that. they also stopped covering a lot of things until the law required them to. yes or no, the empowering patients first act would repeal of the requirements that insurance companies cover substance use disorders? do you think that is still a

good thing? >> i think what is a good thing, again, is to keep the patient at the center of all this to make sure we are providing the kind of options and choices for patients so they can address their clinical and medical needs. >> here's the thing, if insurance companies never offer it, they don't have the option. they can pay good premium dollars, but it is just not offered. the affordable care act said to the insurance industry, here are some basic things you have to offer so that when a patient needs care, the coverage is they are, they can get the care. your answer and the empowering patient act would take that assurance away. it is not an option if insurance does not cover it. >> the good news for you is that as an administrator, if i am privileged to serve in that capacity, that i follow the policies adopted by the congress of the united states and signed by the president. we look forward to working with you to make certain those kinds of things are covered and those patients receive the care that

they need. >> and with respect, there has been lots of opportunity to make certain those things have been coming in until the affordable care act was passed, it never happened. people did not get the care they needed. because of that, a lot of people like the ashley's of the world were not getting better, were not getting treatment, and providers do not exist to treat people if they cannot figure how they are going to get reimbursed. the most important thing that our treatment community said in new hampshire was medicaid expansion and the affordable care act made it possible for them to stand up for a higher volume of treatment. i look forward to working with you, too, but i'm concerned about your unwillingness to commit to making sure that insurance companies cover these essential benefits. i am almost out of time coming and we have not even touched on the issue of women's health. which is obviously of great

concern. let me just ask a couple of questions. yes or no, do you think an employer should be able to fire a woman because she uses birth control? >> i don't believe so. >> well, you voted in support of a resolution to disapprove the district of columbia's nondiscrimination law, the reproductive health nondiscrimination act that protects women here in d.c. from being fired or penalized because of their reproductive health decisions. so your vote would have had the effect of allowing employers to fire a woman for using birth control or for other decision she makes about her own body and reproductive health. so how is that vote consistent with the answer you just gave me? >> again, i think the question was about who is paying for that product. >> no, the question is whether an employer who, let's say a self-insured employer provided health insurance, find out that

a female employee who earned the benefit with her hard work is using that benefit to provide birth control, buy birth control, which the benefit provides, then fires her because the employer to sit grease with the use of birth control. >> i don't think that is the case. >> would you like us to provide examples for you? >> i would be happy to. >> so you would be willing to say that employers may not, you would support a law, a rule that employers may not discriminate against women for their reproductive health decisions? >> i don't think that employers have the opportunity right now to be able to let somebody go based upon their health status or medication they use. >> then why did you vote against the d.c. provision? >> i don't think that is what it did. >> you don't think that was your vote? >> i don't think that is what

the bill did. >> thank you, we will follow up on that. i wish we had more time because i have eight more questions, i will submit them in writing. >> thank you, senator hassan. senator cassidy. >> thank you. you all seem worn out, but i've been gallivanting with high school students, so i feel pretty energized. let me state for the record that when john king came for an interview, i wanted to ask the second round, you did not let me, so i've been wanting to say that for two days now, i'm going to say it. i've got another set of questions, you said shut up. [laughs] anyway. next, nothing personal. for price, how would the laws regard now a grandfather taking his grandson on house calls, anu know what i'm saying? probably. i love what you're saying about the patient-physician relationship. you and i have both worked in hospitals for the uninsured.

i as a gastroenterologist liver doctor, it we've been talking a lot about obamacare and the things it has done, i keep thinking of my patients at the hospital for the uninsured with a $6,000 deductible. the patient's that were working, not on medicaid, they don't have $400 in their account. they have a 6k deductible before they can otherwise be cared for? just for the record, people don't believe me. i put it on my facebook page. a friend of mine from home, his renewal for his individual policy for he and his wife, 60, 61 years old, no kids, it was $39,000 for a year with a $6,000 deductible. i put that on my facebook page because no one believes -- this is like when a family pays for a mortgage and then some. that was their premium. i applaud you for looking to some alternative that is affordable. maybe working for new hampshire, california, massachusetts, god bless you, but for states

like mine, yours, people cannot afford $39,000 fees. over more, did the empowering patient bill especially repeal those parts of the law? >> i don't think so. >> the parity would still apply, that does cover substance abuse, so there are those provisions that will still remain in effect. secondly, we've been talking about, does it have to be a covered benefit? you are a big believer in health savings accounts. i gather a health savings account can be used to pay for doctors visits and essential medical services and even colonoscopies if necessary. >> absolutely. >> as a gastroenterologist, that comes to mind. so also point that out. when you speak about giving the patient power over her healthcare to allow her to choose, when we choose for her, we have a $39,000 premium. but we allow her to choose, she has something which is

affordable issue becomes a more activated and informed consumer, there is a lot of academic literature to look at that. we don't agree with each other entirely, but substantially, i applaud you for that. franken always calls me a luddite, different issue, -- he called me many things, but a luddite among them because i am skeptical about electronic health records and their negative impact upon productivity. again, he thinks i am some guy that calls the mouse the little furry thing, most people have moved beyond. i see that anderson just laid off 5% of their staff. they are blaming it on financial losses related to decreased productivity, again directly attributable to the implementation of the eh are. your department is going to be involved with meaningful use and such like that, and i often find an orthopedic surgeon asking someone about their smoking history is not a good use of the orthopedic surgeons time. not that it is not important,

but nonetheless, he is not the person who implements the cessation program that will be there is. what thoughts do you have, what can we do about this time and productivity slump that has become with the electronic medical record and meaningful use, keeping that which is positive, but hopefully doing something better for the patients and physicians? >> thank you, senator. the electronic medical record and health records are so important because from an innovative standpoint, they allowed the patient the opportunity to have their health history with them at all times and be able to allow whatever physician or other provider access to that. we in the federal government have a role in that, but that role ought to be in operability to make certain that different systems can talk to each other so that it works to the benefit of the patient. i had more than one physician tell me that the final regulations and rules related to

the use where the final straw for them, they quit. >> they quit. >> they have no more gray hair than you or i have. when that happens, we lose incredible intellectual capital in our society that can care for people. >> what can we do about that? what practical things can we do? >> the thing that is absolutely imperative is to find out what things ought to be determined and checked at the metrics that are used, that they actually correlate with the quality of care that is being provided as opposed to so many things that are required right now of the physician or provider that make it so they are wasting their time documenting these things so that it fits into some matrix somewhere, but it does not result in a higher quality of care or outcomes for that patient. so if we truly worked with those providing the care to say, what is it that we could ask you to measure that would really correlate with the outcome in the quality of care being provided? i suspect there are some very specific things we could use. >> it is interesting because you are emphasizing the

patient-physician relationship. my wife is a retired breast cancer surgeon, she used to say that she counted on the husband as much as the wife, but the husband would be the one that was crying. she would tell them, look me in the eye, there is hope. this is not a death sentence, there is hope. i only imagine if she were now in practice, saying there is hope, there is a little bit of a different feel for the patients and their spouse. >> we have turned many physicians and data providers into entry clerks in it detracts as you said from productivity and their ability to provide quality care. >> one of our big challenges, how do we come up with expensive medicines used only by a very few, how do we socialize the use, antibiotics, just have some gorilla, some german out there, bacteria resistant to everything, but we come up with gene therapy for a very few, very expensive to develop, how do we pay for that? i just want your thoughts, don't know if you have an answer. but if i care deeply about those

answer to you with rare diseases that are devastating, how do we care for them and socialize them? >> i talked earlier with senator hatch during his time about your disease, and things that revolutionize the ability or incentive for bringing to market drugs that address rare diseases, and is so incredibly important, incentive a station from an fda standpoint is important. >> jenna: fox news alert, we have a lot of news coming from washington, d.c., but also a headline coming from texas we want to share with you. we are now just learning that former first lady barbara bush was admitted to a hospital in houston this morning as a precaution. this follows up on us learning that president george h.w. bush, her husband, of course, was admitted to the same hospital over the weekend. here is the statement coming from the office of president george h.w. bush, going to read it directly to you. "shortly after our previous report on president bush's condition, he was admitted to the icu at houston methodist

hospital to address an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia. doctors completed a procedure, he is stable and resting comfortably in the icu where he will remain for observation. additionally, mrs. bush was admitted to the houston methodist hospital this morning as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing" peer the president's office says they will provide updates as they come in. we will bring you the information as well pier one of the other news items confirmed over the last several hours is a letter that president george h.w. bush sent mr. trump on the eve of his inauguration, expanding his absence, saying his doctor recommended that he should not sit outside in january for several hours, but that he wishes mr. trump the best. so those are the headlines coming out of texas. we will continue to watch the condition of both of these fine americans and bring you any updates as we get them. in the meantime, we will rejoin the senate hearing for tom price

who is up to be the secretary for health and human services. we will rejoin that on capitol hill. >> your physician about a whole range of programs that are basically about access and coverage, sort of the safety net that provides coverage to millions of peoples. you've offered up the chance to make medicare into a block grant program, that's because a lot of controversy in virginia and other places among democrats and republicans nu called the chip program for kids "socialized medicine." that is combining for about 800,000 virginians. you propose to restructure medicare that cbo found would increase out-of-pocket cost for seniors, that is 1.3 million virginians. you support repeal of the affordable care act, there's about half a million virginians on the exchange and others that have benefited, you have voted to defund planned parenthood, hundreds of thousands used them as their primary health provider peer these are the programs that

provide health care coverage for millions of virginians, there is some overlap, but there would be millions, and tens of millions of americans, in many of them have very limited means. so there is a sort of consistency to your position in some ways across all of these programs that i view as critical to the health safety net. i know that senators franken and murray used the hippocratic maxim "do no harm" and comments before i came. i think, and i hope you would agree, that we discussed the system of access to coverage, cost and quality, the president and congress should strive to do no harm, would you agree with me? >> absolutely. >> we should not harm people by reducing the number of people who have health coverage or reducing the quality of the insurance coverage they do have, that is what we should strive for, right? >> i think it is important to appreciate there are challenges in these programs currently. 1 out of every three physicians who are to be able to see medicaid patients across the country does not see medicaid

patients. if we are honest and sincere about addressing these problems, we should step back to say what are we doing wrong, 1 out of every eight physicians who is eligible to see seniors no longer sees medicare patients. if you are a new medicare patient trying to find a physician, new physician that takes medicare, it is almost impossible anywhere in this country. >> i am all with you on fixing challenges in going forward, more coverage, more affordable. >> that is what we are trying to do, that is what my proposal is trying. >> we should not harm people by doing things that would increase their cost, correct? >> i think we need to drive down the cost for everybody. >> we should not harm people by creating an anxiety about the most important thing in their lives, their healthcare and the health care of their families? we should not be doing that and congress. >> one of my goals of this entire debate -- i appreciate your bringing this up is to lower the temperature about what we are talking about. this is real stuff for folks. these are their lives. >> can we lower the temperature

and rush it at the same time? >> i think we can move a pace but lower the temperature and provide stability to folks out there. people need to know that no rug is going to be pulled out from under them. >> i will join you instability and lower temperature. i do not think lowering the temperature is consistent with rushing. in fact, my experience and going around virginia is huge amounts of fear. we should not harm the american economy. healthcare is the biggest sector of the american economy, 16 the victim by injecting uncertainty into it. again, we should try to fix the problems you have identified or i might identify and do it in a way that provides stability and certainty, shouldn't that be our goal? >> certainty is incredibly important. i reminded of the fact of the congressional budget office has told us that the aca has actually decreased the workforce by the equivalent of 2 million ftes, so there are challenges that we have throughout. i hope what we are able to do is to work together to solve those

challenges. >> do you agree with the president-elect that the replacement for the affordable care act must ensure that there is insurance for everybody? >> i have stated both here and always that it is incredibly important that we have a system that allows for every single american jeff exits to the kind of coverage they need and desire. >> he stated in the same interview a couple days ago that we should negotiate with pharmaceutical companies under medicare part d to try to bring down prescription drug costs. do you support that position of the president-elect? >> i think the cost of drugs in many instances is a real challenge for folks, we need to do as much as we can to bring those costs down. >> here is an offbeat question just based on coincidence, i was at a hearing with nikki haley, governor haley nominated to be you and ambassador right before i came in. she played a really significant role in moving her state away from use of the confederate battle flag in any official capacity. when you remember the georgia legislature, you were a member,

you fought pretty hard to keep the confederate battle flag as part of the georgia state flag, and you sponsored resolutions to make april confederate history heritage month in georgia and "urging schools to commemorate the time of southern independence." i would like to introduce that resolution for the record, mr. chair. i read the resolution with interest because of the phrase "commemorating the type of southern independence" and i pulled it up. i noted the resolution that commemorated that mentioned nothing about slavery. why did you support that resolution, and do you still support it today? >> i haven't thought about that in a long time, senator. i am happy to look at that and go back and refresh my memory about that. >> resolution aside, what is laudatory about the time of southern independence? >> i think every heritage has things that are good about it. every heritage has things that are harmful about it. so i am happy to answer a

specific question. i think slavery was an abomination. >> do you think this resolution about confederate history month, it is not having any reference to slavery comedy think that means the basic standards of the fair and balanced? >> i don't know that it presumed to be comprehensive but the work i did as the first or publican majority senate leader in the history of georgia is to make sure week came forward with a flag that did not have the confederate battle flag on it that addressed all of the concerns of the state and was adopted and supported by the state, and we did so in a bipartisan way, and i was privileged to work with now atlanta mayor when he was in the georgia senate at that time to make certain that we were able to do so. >> you are aware there is an office of minority health at hhs that was created in the affordable care act. we authorized it, in the aca, if it is repealed, unless it is separately reauthorized, that office would also expire.

>> again, that is a legislative question. if i am privileged to serve and be confirmed and be secretary of health and human services, i look forward to making certain that we use the resources available to us and the agencies available to us within the department to make certain that every single american has the highest quality healthcare available. >> why did you use the word "socialized medicine" to explain your vote against the chip program? >> i don't know that i recall that conversation or quote, but i'm happy to go back and look at it. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chair. >> thank you senator tim kaine. senator scott. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good to see you here today. >> likewise. >> hoping for much success for you. did i hear you were at emory university? >> i was. >> medical school? >> i did my residency there. >> my nephew was in his first year of medical school at emory. i hope he gets a quality

education. >> he will and has an exciting road ahead. >> excellent. i did have the religion of serving with you and the house and enjoyed our relationship, our friendship and look forward to seeing your success as the secretary of hhs. i have a couple questions that are state-specific to south carolina. we have over 20 health centers with about 155 service sites serving over 350,000 patients in almost every county in the state. every county in south carolina is either partially or completely designated as medically underserved by hr essay. as rural hospitals continued to close, these centers have addressed the need for many communities in my state. they work together with partners in the community to address impacts on health like food deserts and lack of transportation to preventative health services, which can save

costs in the long run. a diabetic who does not take their medication because they cannot afford it or has no way of picking up what will inevitably be a long run to the emergency room. what role do you think community health centers can play, particularly in rural and medically underserved areas? >> thank you, senator. community health centers are a vital part of our healthcare delivery system right now. they fill a void in so many areas, as you mention come across your state and across mine and literally across the country. i think there were 13,000 that are the entry point and often times the area of healthcare for so many individuals, and we need to do all that we can to strengthen them, to make certain that the providers, doctors and other providers within community health centers are of the highest quality, providing the highest quality care, and that they are able to access

resources, intellectual resources and clinical resources that allow them to provide that care. >> less than a decade ago and south carolina, emergency rooms were full of people waiting for psychiatric exams so they could either be admitted or discharged. after an limitation of the statewide tele- psychiatry network, wait times have been cut from four days down to about ten hours. the cost has been cut by almost two-thirds. what do you see as the future of telemedicine, particularly to address access issues, what barriers can we and his weight as well? >> telemedicine is one of those exciting innovations that well, i believe, allow for individuals, especially in rural and underserved areas, access to the intellectual capital and resources from a clinical standpoint to make decisions on patients that are before them without being able to save

resources and save patients in so many ways. we in the state of georgia have a stroke program that is a spoken will program at the university of georgia, there is a neurologist that works with telemedicine and has a network of clinics and hospitals around the state where if somebody comes in with the symptoms of a stroke, that physician is literally able to see the patient in real-time and determine whether or not they need medication, whether or not they are having a stroke, whether they can be treated in the community or whether they have to be transferred to the academic center. in the past, it was a call on the ground, no ability to be able to talk with somebody who might have greater resources or knowledge, and all of those patients tried to get to the academic center, huge waste of money and not having patients at the center of that decision. telemedicine is absolutely vital, and i thing we need to accentuate the ability to use telemedicine. as you well know right now, telemedicine and telehealth is not often paid for, compensated,

so people eat -- the clinicians eat those costs, assume those costs that help the patient, yes, but they make it much more difficult for them to be able to provide the quality care necessary. >> thank you. another interesting topic you should be fairly familiar with from minority perspectives, south carolina like georgia has a high percentage of african-americans, you probably know breast cancer deaths are approximately 1.5 times higher in african-american women, prostate cancer deaths are proximally 2.5 times higher in african-american men, and new diagnoses are twice as high. i would love to hear your perspective on addressing some of the health disparities and communities of color specifically. >> this is an important area, i appreciate your bringing it up because i think so often what we do in this and other areas is to say, okay, we are going to set up this facility here or this agency here, and we have taken care of the problem here but i

do not think we do is look at what is happening on the ground, the metrics as well as we could or should. we ought to be defining specifically whether or not we are actually improving the lives and health for individuals in challenged communities. if we are not, then we need to step back honestly and sincerely and say, what can we do to make certain that it works? i learned a couple months ago, i had the privilege of being at a clinic in atlanta, and i learned there is a zip code in atlanta within the metropolitan area of atlanta that has incredible disparities in terms of their health outcomes and health status. higher mortality, higher rates of diabetes, high rates of stroke, higher rates of myocardial infarction's, and they are surrounded by incredible healthcare facilities

facilities. when we see those kinds of things, we need to drill down into those areas and say what is going on? why is that happening? address the real challenge on the ground as opposed to saying, okay, we've taken care of it because now we have an agency that is addressed to taking care of that. i think we need to do better metrics and accountability for what is going on. >> i am sure that you guys have talked at some length about rare diseases, sickle cell being one of the more important ones in the african-american population. i would love to submit some questions for the record to get your insight in your perspective on how we tackle so many of those diseases moving forward. >> i look forward to that, senator, thank you. >> thank you, senator scott. senator murray. >> thank you, mr. chairman. congressman price, i did want to clarify your response to one of my previous questions. you admitted to me in our meeting that you come in your own words, talked with congressman collins about innate immuno. this inspired you to use, and your own words, study the company then purchased its stock, and you did so without a

broker, yes or no? >> no. >> without a broker. >> i did not. >> you told me that you did this one on your own without the broker, yes? >> no, i did it through a broker. i directed the rocher to purchase the stock, but i did it with eight broker. >> you directed them. mr. chairman, those answers really commit me to underscore the need for a full independent investigation, and i would like to ask consent to enter into the record an article from kaiser health news that notes that congressman price was offered a lower stock price for sophisticated investors, i think that is an important part of the record. >> it will be included. >> representative price, if you are confirmed as secretary of health and human services, you will be in charge of our nation's family planning and policies. you have said that you do not

think cost is an issue for women in buying birth control and stated, and i quote "bring me one woman who has been left behind. bring me one. there is not one." you did say that, correct? >> i think what i said, and what i meant was that when i had patients in my office who were unable to afford medication, we did everything we could to make certain that they got their thee medication. what i meant to capture in that conversation was that if there are individuals who are unable to afford that medication or any medication that there are avenues within the healthcare system that physicians and others take to make certain that individuals receive the medication that they need. >> let me tell you about my constituent shannon. shannon has endometriosis, a common health condition impacting women, and she said, and i quote "no co-pay birth

control is an essential tool to helping women like me with endometriosis who have to live with chronic pain." so no co-pay birth control was extremely important to her. she is just one. women are really deeply concerned about the impact this election could have on their access to healthcare that they need. i have heard from many of them. according to planned parenthood, the demand for iuds, which is a form of long-lasting contraception, is up 900% since the election. so i want to ask you, will you commit to ensuring all 18 fda approved methods of contraception continue to be covered so that women do not have to go back to paying extra costs for birth control? >> what i will commit to and ensure is that women and all americans need to know that we believe strongly that every single american ought to have access to the kind of coverage and care that they desire and

want. that is our commitment. that runs across the board. >> let me be clear paired birth control is an essential part of women's healthcare, and if you are confirmed, i will be holding you accountable for that. i also wanted to ask you -- i am deeply concerned about the impact of your policies, what they would have on women obviously, and in particular women who often face barriers to access in the healthcare they need. according to hhs data, since the aca became law, the percentage of black women who report not having a regular doctor dropped by nearly 30% while the measure for latinas fell by almost 25%. your healthcare repeal bill and your budget proposal to cut a chilean dollars for medicaid would disproportionately hurt women of color, further compounding disparities in axis to healthcare and undoing progress that was made in the affordable healthcare act.

are you committed to ensuring women of color maintain access to quality, affordable medicare? >> i appreciate that. i do not agree with the premise. the program i support in and te president supports is to make sure every single individual has access to the kind of coverage they want. nobody wants individuals to not have the opportunity to see the doctor that they want, to get the kind of care they want at a price that is affordable and of the highest quality. that is what we believe in. i hope we will be able to work together to achieve that goal. >> the office of minority health was authorized as part of the aca, so will you commit to maintaining and supporting this office and its work? >> i will commit to be certain that minorities in this country are treated in a way that makes certain, absolutely certain that they will have access to the highest quality care. >> you will not commit to the office of minority health being maintained? >> i think it is important we think about the patient at the center of all of this. my commitment to you is to make certain minority patients and

all patients in the country half -- just be one in particular, you will not commit to the office of minority health. >> there are different ways to handle things. i cannot commit to you to do something in a department that i am not in. >> that you will be. you will be. >> let me put forward a possible position that i might find myself in. the individuals within the department come to me and say, we've got a great idea for being able to have greater efficiency within the department itself, and it results in merging this agency and that agency, we will call it something else, and we will address the issues of minority health in them. >> i hear your answer, you are not committed. let me ask one final question. are you aware that black, latina, american indian, alaska natives are almost twice as likely as white people to be covered under medicaid? do you think it is responsible to proposed cutting trillions of

dollars in funding without a credible alternative to replace it for those people? >> i disagree with the premise. the solution we have what ensure every single american, regardless of their health status and economic status, had the ability financial feasibility to purchase the kind of coverage that they want. >> i have a few seconds left to mr. chairman, as you can see, we have members here who also have additional questions. i am deeply troubled by a number of responses. we have a lot of families who are very, very concerned since this election what will happen to them personally. we have outlined some of those, and i hope that congressman price as we will have a significant number of questions from our colleagues that you willfully submit them for the record. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator murray. dr. price, i want to thank you for being here. i only have a few comments. i do not have additional questions.

i was reciting back on sylvia burwell's appearance before the committee and how impressed i was with her appearance. i think you have done as well. i have also been impressed with her performance in the job because while i disagree with a number of the policies she has taken, she has gone out of her way to adopt the same tone that i've heard from you today which is to try to accept and work with people with different points of view and see if we can come to a consensus. so i thank you for that, and i am impressed with your beginning, and i appreciate your being here today. based upon the figures i have, you have just endured the most extensive questioning of any secretary of health and human services since 1993 because of the round of questioning, secretary burwell was in the hearing for two hours, 10 minutes. before that, two hours and 28 minutes, two hours and

10 minutes, levitt less than two hours, don't have it for two others, you have been here nearly four. next tuesday, you will go before the finance committee which will vote on whether you go forward to the president. i am very hopeful that your tone will help us come to a conclusion in consensus in this very important area of providing concrete, practical alternatives to give americans access to healthcare they can afford. i was reflecting last night on the hearing and today, they have been pretty testy. we often have strong opinions here because we have differences of opinions, but i think that is a reflection of one, the election over the past year which became very uncivil, more so than i liked. republicans can take our share of the blame for that. but also, this issue which for six years, we've been going at it like the hatfield and

mccoy's of west virginia until almost we forgot who killed whoe do not know -- we are not absolutely clear what we are fighting about. it would take a bedside manner such as you have to lower the temperature as a senator kane suggested, he and 12 democrats, he was among 12 democrats who wrote a letter suggesting they were willing to work with republicans as we go forward. i think it will take a little while to lower that temperature just because we spent six years as hatfield and mccoy's, but i am committed to trying in the way we will work in the committee on very contentious issues. i would like to get away from the testing as of last night and today and back toward the way we have learned to work. a couple other things. i hope those watching are reassured by what they heard from you. what i heard from you, i believe i am correct about this, is that while we intend to repair the damage of obamacare, and that

would eventually mean repealing parts of it, major parts of it, that it will not become effective until there are practical, concrete alternatives in place to give americans access to healthcare. in other words, he said we do not want to pull the rug out from under anybody. i am sure that is a shared view. you have talked some about the importance of march 1st. one thing we have to work together on is what do we do about the individual market? and the fact that in a third of the counties, there is already just one insurer for people with obamacare subsidies, and we do not want to get into a situation later this year or in 2018 where, as i said, it is like having a bus ticket in a town with no buses. we may have to do some things on both sides of the aisle that we would not normally do during this transition period to make sure that insurers are willing to sell into the market so that these 11 million people continue to buy insurance hopefully for more than one person.

i think it has also become clear that the timing that we have talked about is yet to be resolved, really. sequencing is as important almost as the policy. how do we get from where we are to where we eventually hope to go? the way i think about it is that we go to work immediately on what i call a collapsing bridge, repair it, that is the individual market, make sure that people are not hurt by it, then work together to build new bridges and then close the old bridge only when we have new bridges. i think we can make most of the decisions about the "replacemen "replacement" or replacement, new systems, new bridges in a relatively short period of time. we have been working on this for years we have our opinions, we ought to be able to sit in a room and come to a conclusion. in my opinion, then, it will take several years to actually implement those decisions because in many cases, we will be transferring responsibility to the states and consumers, we

will want to do that after talking with governors and insurance commissioners, do it on a schedule that states can accept, their legislature sometimes only meet every two years. so making decisions promptly, making them together, if we possibly can, and then implementing it step-by-step and carefully so that people are able to have access to lower-cost insurance is what i hope i heard today. one other thing, senator cassidy, senator whitehouse, several members of the committee, maybe all of us, worked very hard for it i know senator murray did as well, on trying to deal with the electronic healthcare records and meaningful use. at vanderbilt, which was an early adopter of the electronic healthcare records, they said stage i was very helpful, stage two, they could deal with, stage iii was terrifying. i had hoped that we could delay stage iii, and i thought that

maybe it could be as simple as saying to the physicians and providers of the world, if you are a doctor, you are spending 50% of your time filling out forms then either you are doing something wrong we are doing something wrong, let's work together for the next couple years to see if we can get that down to a manageable level and create an environment where physicians and providers can spend their time talking instead of typing. you've got a bipartisan consensus here to work on that, at least we had last year when we passed the cures bill which had a number of provisions in it. we had six hearings on the subject, and i invite you to work with us if you are confirmed to complete that. senators wished to ask additional questions of our nominee, questions for the record are due by close of business on friday, january 20th. following the matter, the hearing record will remain open for ten days, members may submit

additional records for the next time, the next meetingn executive session on january 24th at 10:00 a.m. which has already been noticed. thank you for being here today. the committee will stand adjourned. >> thank you. >> jon: as senator lamar alexander, republican of tennessee, a man who has served in a cabinet position himself. he was george hw bush's education secretary for two years. so he knows something about the demands of the office. his health education labor and pensions committee hearing testimony from congressman tom price, republican of georgia who is the nominee to be health health and human services secretary. as jenna pointed out, this is not the committee that will actually vote to approve his nomination, but they are getting some information from him. >> is the president-elect, mr. trump, going to keep his

word to the american people and not cut social security, medicare and medicaid, or did he lie to the american people? >> i have not had extensive discussions with him about the comments he made, but i have no reason to believe that he has changed his position. >> the united states of america is the only major country on earth that does not guarantee healthcare to all people as a right. you believe that healthcare is a right of all americans whether they are rich or they are poor? >> we are a compassionate society. >> we are not a compassionate society. >> if you want to talk about other countries healthcare systems, there are consequences to the decisions they have made. i believe and i look forward to working with you to make sure every single american has access to the highest quality care and coverage that is possible. >> jenna: that is cumbersome and tom price getting into a little bit with senator bernie sanders during his congressional hearing. this has to do with him becoming secretary of health and human

services, as pointed out, it is not a confirmation hearing, but it is important to see what the affordable care act looks like in the future. that is some of what bernie sanders was talking about. republicans in congress are working to figure out a replacement for obamacare if they repeal it and what president-elect trump meant when he promised healthcare for everybody which was a big headline this week. ethan berman is a radio talk show host, and communications director for american crossroads, great to have both of you. you were listening in on what was a colorful and spirited hearing. what do you think we learned? >> i think rest 8 representative price did a good job here when you're looking at democrats and republicans, both parties want to have a system where everybody can get healthcare, whether you are of a higher income bracket, lower income, regardless of age or station in life, the bottom line is how do we get there? obamacare mandates it, if you do not get insurance, you are taxed. republicans want to incentivize it so if you get healthcare, you get a tax break which is what we

will see, a change of system from a mandate system to an incentive's asian system, and i think we will see how that goes in the next couple years, but i think it is an exciting time if you are for a free market principles. >> jenna: as an independent, what do you think, is that what you heard as well? >> no, i heard we are not guaranteeing women's health because the specific issue of birth control is not related always to reproduction, but it also has health issues related to it, republicans especially the evangelical right has not been interested in that aspect of women's health, and on top of all of that, i did not hear anyone talking about connecting patients with doctors and getting insurance companies out of the middle which is a big part of the bureaucracy that is causing issues for so many people. >> jenna: what about the issue of women's health? that is something repeatedly democrats talk a lot about. do you think the republicans have enough of an answer about how they would approach the issue and what it would look like?

>> i think democrats have been playing the politics of division for a while. it is always divide and conquer, talk about women's health. women's health is obviously important. nobody thinks it is not pure their republican lawmakers who are women that are concerned about healthcare and healthcare reform. it is not something that is not going to be part of a replacement plan. it is a political talking point used by democrats, in unfortunately, a lot of people end up buying into it. >> jenna: the question is where do we go from here? i guess i could pose that to you, what do you think is next, what do you want to hear more of? >> i'm pretty sure most of these nominees are going to be confirmed. i really do not see that not happening. what i would like to see is more conversation about not just free market because, by the way, if you are talking about requiring people to have insurance, insurance for all, that is not necessarily free market either, ian. i really want to go back to the key point, women's health is not fully covered under what republicans are talking about here. we need to make sure that people do have healthcare available and do not just give me this thing

that, we are covering it, it is not a talking point. it was just addressed in the hearing that tom price does not want to cover the pill, for example, which helps women with endometriosis for example. these are big issues that need to be covered. >> he never said he does not want to cover the pill. >> jenna: here -- here in lies where we are in this moment which is looking for specifics t what a replacement plan would really look like and really not having that specifics in black and white quite yet. as we mentioned, this is not a confirmation hearing. quickly want to mention there are seven nominees the republicans want to confirm on friday when the inauguration is happening, and there is a question whether democrats will grant that and allow this process to speed up and these nominees to be confirmed. we will see what projects are at play there. ethan, ian, that is all we have time for, i appreciate it, look forward to having you back, thank you. >> jon: we want to thank you

for joining us pure just a quick word, the president is expected to begin his final news conference of its term in about 15 minutes. we will have it for you live. >> jenna: for question about what we are going to hear there. thank you for joining us, "america's newsroom hq" starts now. >> we are just moments away from the start of president obama's final press conference as he prepares to hand the reins of power to president-elect donald trump. hello, everyone, i am sandra smith. mr. obama's final appearance in the white house briefing room comes amid growing controversies president-elect donald trump. >> convicted of leaking more than 700,000 classified documents to wikileaks. critics on both sides of the aisle blasting the move. saying manning's actions put american troops and the country at risk. let's first go to kevin cork live at the white house. kevin, big day, what should we expect from the