Concerns have been raised over the ethics of former pharmaceutical industry lobbyist Joe steering the Trump administration ’s drug price plan . Grogan has sweeping authority over drug pricing and other aspects of federal policy as associate director of health programs at the Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) . CMS Administrator Verma said she wouldn’t preside over decisions involving clients or matters she dealt with as a private Medicaid consultant. Prior to joining the administration , he worked as a top lobbyist for Life Sciences , the company which kicked off the drug price controversy with its hepatitis C pill Sovaldi back in 2014 . In his last year , Grogan was Gilead ’s head of federal affairs and listed as lobbying on areas such as Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) policy and the coverage and reimbursement of drugs in federal health programs . But , upon joining the White House , he did not get a waiver from a Trump directive that set a two - year cooling - off period between lobbying and regulating on the same “ specific issue area . ” The Trump administration claims Grogan does not need a change as his role in the OMB affects policy for a whole industry , not just the company he used to work for . But with Trump now vowing to take on the high cost of prescription drugs , Grogan will be in a key position to shape policy and some critics see a conflict . Norman Eisen , former ethics chief for the Obama administration and chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , said the policy area was “ too close ” to what Grogan worked on as as lobbyist . Grogan is not the only former industry official or lobbyist in the upper echelons of the Trump administration , but he is an exception among top health officials for not completing federal ethics forms . Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma have also completed such forms . The administration ’s recent 44-page blueprint on drug pricing included policy areas that Grogan touched upon at Gilead . Ethics watchdogs say that it is not rare to have former industry officials on board but the question is whether their actions benefit their previous employers . A top OMB official said there was no conflict over Grogan , as the Obama administration did not work on drug pricing while he at Gilead . Grogan has also sought guidance from OMB lawyers to ensure compliance with ethics rules , the official added . But health policy observers say that his role is still troubling . Gilead ’s pricing of hep C drugs ended up sparking a 18-month long inquiry by the Senate Finance Committee , that found the company tried to maximise revenue Sovaldi at $ 84,000 for a course of treatment . An OMB spokesman dismissed concerns about possible conflicts , saying that Trump ’s proposals for the 2019 budget would hurt , not boost , the bottom lines of many brand - name drugmakers . But critics argue Grogan should recuse himself from working on Trump ’s drugs pricing plan . John Rother , president of the National Coalition on Health Care , said it was “ not appropriate ” for a drug lobbyist to help shape federal policy on issues he lobbied on .
Concerns have been raised over the ethics of former pharmaceutical industry lobbyist Joe steering the Trump administration ’s drug price plan . Grogan has sweeping authority over drug pricing and other aspects of federal policy as associate director of health programs at the Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) . Prior to joining the administration , he worked as a top lobbyist for Life Sciences , the company which kicked off the drug price controversy with its hepatitis C pill Sovaldi back in 2014 . In his last year , Grogan was Gilead ’s head of federal affairs and listed as lobbying on areas such as Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) policy and the coverage and reimbursement of drugs in federal health programs . But , upon joining the White House , he did not get a waiver from a Trump directive that set a two - year cooling - off period between lobbying and regulating on the same “ specific issue area . ” The Trump administration claims Grogan does not need a change as his role in the OMB affects policy for a whole industry , not just the company he used to work for . But with Trump now vowing to take on the high cost of prescription drugs , Grogan will be in a key position to shape policy and some critics see a conflict . Norman Eisen , former ethics chief for the Obama administration and chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , said the policy area was “ too close ” to what Grogan worked on as as lobbyist . Grogan is not the only former industry official or lobbyist in the upper echelons of the Trump administration , but he is an exception among top health officials for not completing federal ethics forms . Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma have also completed such forms . The administration ’s recent 44-page blueprint on drug pricing included policy areas that Grogan touched upon at Gilead . Ethics watchdogs say that it is not rare to have former industry officials on board but the question is whether their actions benefit their previous employers . A top OMB official said there was no conflict over Grogan , as the Obama administration did not work on drug pricing while he at Gilead . Grogan has also sought guidance from OMB lawyers to ensure compliance with ethics rules , the official added . But health policy observers say that his role is still troubling . Gilead ’s pricing of hep C drugs ended up sparking a 18-month long inquiry by the Senate Finance Committee , that found the company tried to maximise revenue Sovaldi at $ 84,000 for a course of treatment . An OMB spokesman dismissed concerns about possible conflicts , saying that Trump ’s proposals for the 2019 budget would hurt , not boost , the bottom lines of many brand - name drugmakers . But critics argue Grogan should recuse himself from working on Trump ’s drugs pricing plan . John Rother , president of the National Coalition on Health Care , said it was “ not appropriate ” for a drug lobbyist to help shape federal policy on issues he lobbied on .