Last week the Senate voted 55-43 to confirm Alex Azar as the new
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Azar replaces the previous HHS Secretary Tom Price, who resigned
last fall.
Secretary Azar stated during his Senate testimony that he would
focus on four issues: lowering prescription drugs costs, making
health insurance more affordable, basing Medicare payments on
quality, and the opioid epidemic.
Secretary Azar previously served as senior counsel and later
deputy secretary of HHS under President George W. Bush from 2001
to 2007. After serving in the Bush Administration, Secretary Azar
served a decade at Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company as the Senior
Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications, and later
as president of the company.
