HHS Secretary Azar Takes Heat At Budget Hearing

HHS Secretary Alex Azar was pressed on issues tied to the Affordable Care Act and the recently proposed FY 2020 budget at a March 12 congressional hearing.

Capitol House

Alex Azar, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, had to fend off several sharp questions from US House Energy and Commerce Committee members at a budget hearing March 12. Some queries came from Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., who asked about the department’s “sabotage of the Affordable Care Act by cuts to health care-safety-net Medicare and Medicaid programs.”

Also, Health Subcommittee Chair Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., asked why Azar had thrown his support behind so-called insurance “junk plans” promoted...

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