President Donald Trump announced Monday morning that he is tapping former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar to replace Tom Price as the head of the organization.
Azar has considerable experience navigating the rather confusing health care regulatory environment, which could prove a boon to Trump and congressional Republicans campaign to overhaul the American health care system. He could also be useful in the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back expensive prescription drug pricing.
Azar served as both the general counsel and deputy secretary of HHS under former President George W. Bush. His tenure at the agency ran from August 2001 through 2007.
After leaving the Bush administration, Azar went on to work at Eli Lilly and Company, an American-based pharmaceutical company, from June 2007 to January 2017. During his time at Eli Lilly, Azar served as the Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs and Communications, the vice president of managed health care services and the president of company.
Azar left Lilly to serve on the board of directors of two health care companies: HMS and Seraphim Strategies.
The former pharmaceutical executive is in favor of a number of Republican-backed health care initiatives, like repealing and replacing Obamacare.
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