The man who could reshape Obamacare

Donald Trump's pick for Health and Human Services secretary is a former orthopedic surgeon who said he got into government to get government off his back. So it's safe to say that if Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., is confirmed, he won't hesitate to lead the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, often also called Obamacare.

Here's what you need to know about Price.

He's one of the sharpest critics of the ACA. Most recently he declared 'Obamacare is failing,” in a Nov. 1 guest opinion column on the conservative website Townhall. That was written shortly after the administration announced that some ACA premiums would be rising next year.

He's also a powerful member of Congress. Since coming to Congress in 2004 representing the greater Atlanta area, Price steadily has climbed the ranks as a health care policy wonk and deficit hawk. Moreover, he's chairman of the House Budget Committee. It's a job House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also held.

Speaking of Ryan, Price is close with him: Price often touts Ryan's 'Better Way” agenda. He also is a leader among policy-oriented conservatives in the House, so his selection suggests that Trump is offering an olive branch to a group of sometimes-wary establishment conservatives, Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist Kyle Wingfield wrote.

He has introduced legislation to repeal the ACA. The 'replace” part, under Price's 2014 plan, is minimal. He would provide $3 billion to help states cover people who might lose their insurance. For comparison, Ryan - no fan of the ACA himself - has proposed $25 billion in grants.

Price's philosophy on fixing the ACA is rooted in '(clearing) out the bureaucratic impediments” to health care providers so that the marketplace can figure out the best way to get people health insurance. Price also has supported giving individuals and small businesses the ability to pool together to, in his words, 'gain the purchasing power of millions.”

He also supports privatizing Medicare. This could be another flashpoint with Democrats, who say there's no way they'll let Republicans turn over Medicare and other government health benefits to private companies.

But he does appear to agree with Trump on liking some aspects of the ACA. Since being elected president, Trump has suggested he'd like to keep some of the more popular elements of the program, such as forcing insurance companies to insure people with pre-existing conditions or allowing young adults up to age 26 to stay on their parents' coverage.

Price has supported the idea of requiring insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

He could undo the mandate requiring people to have health insurance. In 2012, the Supreme Court decided that the most controversial part of the ACA - the requirement that people must get insured by leveraging tax penalties on the uninsured - was constitutional.

Some 12.7 million Americans bought health insurance in the past year through federal and state marketplaces, U.S. News and World Report noted, citing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services figures. In 31 states, about nine million Americans received insurance through Medicaid expansion, the magazine said.