CNN Missed – Or Ignored – Key Facts About Tom Price’s Health Care Stocks

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/17/cnn-missed-or-ignored-key-facts-about-tom-prices-health-care-stocks/

 

 

Rep. Tom Price, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be his secretary of Health and Human Services may have encountered a little “fake news” by CNN reporters who questioned the ethics of a stock trade he made in the health care field.

CNN charged its “First on CNN” page Monday, “Rep. Tom Price last year purchased shares in a medical device manufacturer days before introducing legislation that would have directly benefited the company.”

CNN also reported, “Less than a week after the transaction, the Georgia Republican congressman introduced the HIP Act, legislation that would have delayed until 2018 a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation that industry analysts warned would significantly hurt Zimmer Biomet financially once fully implemented.”

CNN’s article was repeated by such news organizations as Reuters, CBS News, New York Magazine, and Forbes.

 

 

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However, CNN decided to leave out key facts:

• Importantly, Price played no role in the decision to purchase the stock, which was executed under a broker-directed account by Morgan Stanley, according to a source with direct knowledge on the issue. The stock purchase was by his brokerage firm during a regular rebalancing of accounts.

• The congressman — who for two decades was an orthopedic surgeon — also went on record opposing the CMS regulation six months before the stock selection had been made.

• On Sept. 21, 2015 Price joined 60 Democrats and Republicans who questioned the Obama administration’s new, controversial Medicare reimbursement policy.  In the letter, the group asked Andy Slavitt, the CMS acting administrator, to delay the regulation.

• Further, Price introduced his legislation before he knew of the stock purchase. He was the chief sponsor of the HIP Act and he introduced it on March 23, 2016, according to House records. But Morgan Stanley did not inform Price of the Zimmer Biomet stock until April 14, according to House financial disclosure forms on the Georgia congressman’s transactions.

How big was the stock transaction that would have allowed Price to clean up?  It was 26 shares, amounting to a little less than $2,700.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/17/cnn-missed-or-ignored-key-facts-about-tom-prices-health-care-stocks/#ixzz4WADiQhqx

[TBoneTX 45,299]

Perhaps the longest thread title ever posted on VisaJourney!  Reported!!!

[Dashinka 24,505]

Isn't CNN pretty much becoming the purveyors of fake news?

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

5 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Perhaps the longest thread title ever posted on VisaJourney!  Reported!!!

A good mod would fix that . What do we pay for around here. ?

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

10 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Isn't CNN pretty much becoming the purveyors of fake news?

They are fast becoming the national enquire 

[Dakine10 5,452]

18 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Isn't CNN pretty much becoming the purveyors of fake news?

   You're thinking of FOX. If you need a slogan to convince people you are "fair and balanced", chances are you are not.

[OriZ 3,157]

2 hours ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

A good mod would fix that . What do we pay for around here. ?

 

You were told a long time ago to get the premium membership.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

1 hour ago, OriZ said:

 

You were told a long time ago to get the premium membership.

I have the Ultra premium elite penthouse key Membership. That is why the lack of service was so surprising. I usally put so much effort into making sure my posts are razor perfect, I don't know how that one slipped by me. 

[OriZ 3,157]

17 minutes ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

I have the Ultra premium elite penthouse key Membership. That is why the lack of service was so surprising. I usally put so much effort into making sure my posts are razor perfect, I don't know how that one slipped by me. 

 

Ouch. Nails on a chalkboard comes to mind.

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

4 hours ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

A good mod would fix that . What do we pay for around here. ?

done

[bcking 3,157]

Honestly it is inappropriate for a person who is in a position to influence stock prices to not be kept informed by his/her broker regarding investments they are making. The money is the individuals, not the broker's. A broker is acting as a surrogate for the person. The person should be informed so they can avoid any potential conflicts. It isn't in a "blind trust" or anything where he has no idea. 

 

In my wife's line of work (Oil and Gas) she had to get ALL investment purchases in the energy sector approved by her company (whether it was purchases by a broker or herself) before she could go through with them. Didn't matter if she was buying stock in her own company or a different company. Depending on the projects she was working on she was not allowed to make any purchases in the energy industry for a period of time (zero, in other companies or her own company) because of the "risk" of conflicts. There were several months when she was working in New Ventures where she was completely blacklisted from making any investments in the energy sector just because of the "risk" that her projects would give her insider knowledge.

 

It is sad when the Oil and Gas industry is held to a higher standard than politicians. Though maybe not surprising.

 

EDIT:

 

Essentially he has a pretty good cover because he can claim "I had no idea" and the broker can do the same. No one will ever be able to prove otherwise. A LOT of insider trading escapes notice for this very reason. While we may not be able to prove he did anything illegal, he should hold himself to a higher standard and should have been kept informed in what he was investing in while he was working on healthcare legislation. 

Edited January 19, 2017 by bcking

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

15 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

done

There will be something extra in your Christmas envelope this year sir. 

[bcking 3,157]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmaker-asks-sec-to-investigate-stock-trades-of-hhs-nominee-tom-price-1484042401

 

I don't think any of this is likely to keep the guy from getting confirmed, but I think it is quite reasonable to investigate it. I think we allow politicians FAR too much leeway when it comes to financial investments relating to their business in Congress.

 

To me the more concerning guy seems to be Chris Collins:

 

" Mr. Price’s purchase of between $50,000 and $100,000 of Innate Immuno stock on Aug. 31, 2016, came two days after Mr. Collins also made a purchase of four million shares worth between $500,000 and $1 million, according to disclosure statements. "

 

"One law enacted in December that could benefit Innate Immuno is the 21st Century Cures Act, which authorizes spending $6.3 billion for medical research, including $500 million for the FDA to speed up drug approvals.

The provision was written by Mr. Collins as a member of the health panel of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Collins told his hometown newspaper, the Buffalo News, that his authorship of legislation wasn’t a conflict of interest but rather an instance of bringing his business knowledge to the Congress."

That to me should not be allowed to happen. If you want to bring your "business knowledge to Congress", you should be barred from investing in those businesses you are going to impact when you write legislation. It just seems like a no brainer. The guy invested in a company whose own CEO stated that their future was dependent on a Phase 2 drug, and then he wrote legislation that providing funding to help speed up drug approval.

Politicians need to be held to a higher standard. If you are on a healthcare committee writing legislation, you shouldn't be able to invest in healthcare. If you are on a defense committee, you shouldn't be able to invest in defense. The only way it should be allowed is if it is in a "blind trust". The whole business of a blind trust shouldnt' be just for the President and his Cabinet. Congressmen should have the same standards.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Only Democrats need be held to higher standards. In Trump We Trust!

 

[Dashinka 24,505]

23 hours ago, Dakine10 said:

   You're thinking of FOX. If you need a slogan to convince people you are "fair and balanced", chances are you are not.

Nope, I am thinking about the organization that spoon fed debate questions to Hillary.  Journalists are a very distrusted profession and now that we know how in bed the main-stream media is for one party over the other, I expect the they might even drop below lawyers and politicians.

 

http://www.gallup.com/poll/1654/honesty-ethics-professions.aspx

Edited January 20, 2017 by Bill & Katya