United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price was an orthopedic physician before he went into politics.
Tom Price's future at the White House is up in the air.
According to a report from Politico, the US Health and Human Services secretary's flights on private and military planes have racked up costs of over $1 million.
The Department of Health and Human Services is now conducting an investigation into Price's travel expenses. Under intense pressure, Price has offered to pay back $51,887, the cost of his seat on the flights.
Long before he was appointed HHS secretary, and before he was a Republican member of Congress, Price worked as an orthopedic surgeon for years in the Atlanta area.
Here's a look at Price's medical and political career so far:
Price launched his political career in Georgia, but he grew up in Lansing, Michigan. Atlanta Trend reported that he worked as an EKG tech at a local hospital in high school.
Source: Detroit News, The Michigan Daily, MedCity News, Atlanta Trend
Price earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.
Source: Detroit News, The Michigan Daily
He stuck around the University of Michigan for medical school as well. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Price received his M.D. in 1979.
Source: Detroit News, The Michigan Daily, MedCity News
After medical school, Price traveled to the state he would eventually represent in Congress. He moved to Roswell, Georgia, to complete his orthopedic surgery residency at Emory University's Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
In 1984, Price went into private practice, opening an orthopedic clinic in Atlanta. He told Atlanta Trend he felt physicians in the city went through a "malpractice crisis" in the 1980s, prompting his interest in local politics. He began working with the Medical Association of Georgia early in his career.
Source: MedCity News
According to the New York Times, Price merged his practice Compass Orthopedics with several other Atlanta clinics to form Resurgens Orthopaedics, "the largest orthopedic practice in Georgia."
Source: MedCity News, The New York Times
The New York Times reported Price felt frustrated with insurance companies and federal health regulators alike.
Source: The New York Times
As a result of his views, he became a member of the conservative nonprofit Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. One of the group's extreme stances is an opposition to mandatory vaccinations.
Source: Washington Post
In 1996, Price ran for Georgia's state Senate as a Republican and won. In 2002, he left private practice and became the medical director of Grady Memorial Hospital’s orthopedic clinic, described by the New York Times a "a vast, chaotic, aging complex, just a few blocks from the State Capitol."
Source: The New York Times
He subsequently served in the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2017, representing the northern suburbs of Atlanta. He began pushing for an alternative to US President Barack Obama's Affordable Healthcare Act in 2009.
Source: The New York Times, Congress, Forbes
During the 2016 Republican primaries, Price criticized Trump and said he voted for Sen. Marco Rubio.
Source: The New York Times, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal
But that didn't stop the president-elect from selecting him as HHS secretary in November. In July, the president joked that he would fire Price if the Republicans didn't pass a new healthcare bill.
Source: The New York Times, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider
Now, Price's future at the White House is uncertain. Trump has emphasized his displeasure over the HHS secretary's use of private jets, but demurred from announcing whether or not he would fire Price, telling reporters "we'll see."
Source: Business Insider
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price was an orthopedic physician before he went into politics. Read Full Story
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