SEIU Statement on Advancement of HHS Secretary Nominee Alex Azar | America Deserves an HHS Secretary Who Cares about People, Not Profits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 17, 2018 Contact: Kimberly N. Alleyne, kimberly.alleyne@seiu.org

America Deserves an HHS Secretary Who Cares about People, Not Profits

Sasha Cuttler, RN, PhD., and member of Local 1021

Washington – Alex Azar’s Advancement Shows Congress Is More Concerned about the Interests of Corporations than Protecting Healthcare for All Americans

I’m a nurse working on patient safety, and I advocate for safe healthcare. Public health nurses know their community is the patient, and we therefore must identify any population risks.  Unfortunately, the Senate Finance Committee today put the U.S. public health at great risk by advancing the nomination of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Alex Azar.

Alex Azar is an unsafe prescription to the American people.

As the former chief of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, Azar’s track record shows he is capable of eliminating any federal constraints on healthcare profiteering. This is not what America needs in an HHS Secretary.

Americans need an HHS Secretary who will help tackle the problems of price gouging and prescription drug abuse. Unfortunately, Azar oversaw a pharmaceutical company that profited from illegally promoting a powerful medication. Having led a company that was fined a record amount by the U.S. Department of Justice should have automatically disqualified Alex Azar. The Trump Administration needs to get out of the way so my community —the American people — can get the quality healthcare it deserves.