John R. Graham has been appointed as a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
Graham’s appointment, which is expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon fills a vacancy in the Division of Planning and Evaluation, which HHS says is “responsible for major activities in policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research, evaluation, and economic analysis.”
“We at NCPA are excited to learn that President Trump and Secretary Tom Price have chosen our trusted and accomplished colleague, NCPA Senior Fellow John R. Graham, to lead the Division of Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,” NCPA president Jim Amos said in a statement.
“Mr. Graham has a record of accomplishment in many areas of health policy, including payment reform, regulation of drugs and devices, comparing international health systems, and the importance of incentives in medical innovation.”
Graham’s appointment comes amid sputtering negotiations between warring Republican factions on a replacement to Obamacare. Graham is a specialist in healthcare reform and testified before the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year on the subject of Obamacare’s individual mandate.
He is currently a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a Dallas-based free market nonprofit.
WATCH:
This story has been updated to include NCPA’s statement.
Correction: An earlier version of this article identified former GOP congressman Lt. Col. West as the head of NCPA. West is the executive director, not the president.