Some In California ‘Truly Scared’ Over Price Confirmation, While Others Remain Hopeful
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is drawing mixed reactions from those in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Fresno Bee:
Satisfied, Uncertain, Fearful: Valley Reactions To Price Appointment As U.S. Health Secretary
[Tom] Price, a retired orthopedic surgeon from Atlanta, has been a staunch opponent of funding for Planned Parenthood, has voiced support for replacing the Affordable Care Act and for controlling the costs of Medicare and Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California) Socorro Santillan, executive director of Barrios Unidos, a southeast Fresno organization that works to reduce teen pregnancies, said: “We’re truly scared that all the progress we’ve had in the last several years is going to be totally replaced.” Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, painted an equally grim picture: “His appointment confirms on party lines that we are more likely to get significant cuts to the Medi-Cal program that half of the Central Valley residents depend on. It would mean millions of people losing coverage; there’s no way around that.” (Anderson, 2/10)
The New York Times:
Tom Price Is Sworn In As Health Secretary Amid Senate Disunity
President Trump’s secretary of health and human services, Tom Price, took office on Friday with a promise to fix what he called a “broken health care system” that was “harming Americans and their families.” Mr. Price was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence just hours after the Senate, by a party-line vote of 52 to 47, confirmed his nomination in the early hours of Friday morning. (Pear and Rappeport, 2/10)
In other news —
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Party Affiliation Predicts Poll Opinions On Climate Change, Health Care, Pres. Trump
Political party affiliation continues to strongly predict opinion in California on climate change, health care and President Donald Trump. The Public Policy Institute of California finds almost 75 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of the president, compared to only 10 percent of Democrats. Numbers are similar for climate change: 80 percent of Democrats view it as a major threat, but just 33 percent of Republicans. (Bradford, 2/10)