He has introduced legislation that would make it easier for doctors to defend themselves against medical malpractice lawsuits and to enter into private contracts with Medicare beneficiaries. Under such contracts, doctors can, in effect, opt out of Medicare and charge more than the amounts normally allowed by the program’s rules.

He also supported legislation to bar federal funds for Planned Parenthood, saying some of its clinics had been involved in what he called “barbaric” abortion practices.

Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that Mr. Price “poses a grave threat to women’s health” and that as health secretary he “could take women back decades.” If he had his way, she said, “millions of women could be cut off from Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services,” could lose access to free birth control under the Affordable Care Act and could again be charged more than men for the same health insurance.

Mr. Price’s intimate knowledge of Medicare could serve him well. The secretary of health and human services sets Medicare payment policies for doctors, updates the physician fee schedule each year and issues rules that can have a huge influence on the practice of medicine. The government is carrying out a law that changes how doctors are paid under Medicare, and Medicare often serves as a model for private insurers.

On the other hand, as secretary, Mr. Price would need a broader perspective. He would have to consider not only the interests of doctors, but also the needs of Medicare beneficiaries, Medicaid patients and taxpayers who finance those programs.

Mr. Price is a strong conservative who invariably excites the audience at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. His website lists him as a member of the Tea Party Caucus. His district includes territory once represented by Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House. But Mr. Price is no bomb thrower. He works within the system and has led two groups that promote conservative policies in the House.