The Senate Finance Committee will vote again Thursday onPresident Donald Trump's nominee to head U.S. health programs for the elderly, poor, anddisabled after an initial tally resulted in a tie.

Members present Wednesday voted 9 to 9 on whether to send thenomination of Seema Verma to the full Senate forconfirmation as head of the Centers for Medicare and MedicaidServices. The Senate Finance Committee will reconvene on Thursday,said Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah.

CMS is responsible for implementing the Affordable Care Act,often called Obamacare, which Trump and Republicans have vowed torepeal and replace. The president repeated hiscampaign promise to undo the law in his first address to CongressTuesday night, offering few new policy details.

“The way to make health insurance available to everyone is lowerthe cost of health insurance, and that is what we are going to do,”Trump said.

Verma helped craft Indiana's expanded Medicaid program, whichrequires beneficiaries to contribute to health savings accounts,and has helped other states design Medicaid expansion waiverprograms.

In a confirmation hearing before the committee on Feb.16, she advocated for flexibility for states and individualsto make choices about health care, and said the federalgovernment's role should be more limited.

In the hearing, she gave little detail on her views of CMS'sprograms, which cover about 100 million people, saying that theirfuture is a matter for Congress to determine.

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