On Jan. 24, the U.S. voted to confirm Alex Azar as HHS secretary, according to Reuters.
Here are five key points:
1. Mr. Azar is a former pharmaceutical executive and lobbyist. He spent five years as the president of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly’s U.S. unit.
2. He served as general counsel and deputy secretary for HHS under president George W. Bush.
3. Mr. Azar is known by many for raising drug prices during his time at Eli Lilly. He was critiqued and opposed by many Democrats despite being voted 55 to 43 in favor of his nomination.
4. As HHS secretary, Mr. Azar will oversee the Trump administration’s opioid epidemic response, efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and address rising drug prices.
5. Tom Price, MD, resigned as HHS secretary in September 2017 following allegations of overspending taxpayer money.