Here’s a look at Price’s career inside and outside of government
Price, 62, resigned as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Sept. 29 amid a scandal over his use of taxpayer-funded private planes for his travel.
Price was confirmed on Feb. 10 by a party-line vote of 52-47. Before that vote he represented Georgia's 6th Congressional District for 12 years.
Price was chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee in 2015 and a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Before that, Price served as chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee and chairman of the Republican Study Committee.
Controversies
Price was criticized for taking private jets at taxpayers' expense for travel. In four months he took about two dozen trips on private planes at a cost of more $300,000. President Donald Trump said he was "not happy" with Price's use of charter flights.
Shortly after Trump nominated him for health secretary, Price's stock trades came under scrutiny. Records show he traded stock in 40 health care companies while he had a role in shaping health care legislation. Price has maintained he did nothing improper. Critics have said legislative decisions made by Price could have affected those stock prices and created potential conflicts of interest. In one deal, Price participated in a privileged stock sale at the invitation of U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R- N.Y. Price bought $94,000 in stock in a small Australian biotech company and more than tripled his investment.
Credit: SAUL LOEB
Credit: SAUL LOEB
Key legislation
In 2015, Price pushed through an agreement between the House and Senate that would balance the budget over a 10-year period. The blueprint, which passed along party lines, was the first balanced-budget agreement between the House and Senate since 2001.
An orthopedic surgeon, Price has been a prominent voice on health policy in the Republican Party and a critic of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He says the ACA “is driving up costs for families and businesses and kicking millions of people off of health care plans they had and liked.” He proposed his own bill as a less-generous alternative to Obamacare that would provide age-based tax credits that range from $900 to $3,000 per year. It never received a vote on the floor or in committee.
Previous experience
Price, who served four terms in the Georgia State Senate, became Georgia’s first Republican state Senate majority leader after the GOP took control of the chamber in the 2002 election. He was first elected to the state Senate in 1996. Price traveled the state campaigning against Bill Clinton's health care plan in the early 1990s.
A native of Lansing, Mich., Price worked for nearly 20 years as an orthopedic surgeon. He was an assistant professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and the medical director of the orthopedic clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Net worth
About $14 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Education
Bachelor’s and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Michigan. Completed his residence in orthopedic surgery at Emory University.
Family
Wife, state Rep. Betty Price, R-Roswell, and a son.
