U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) testifies before a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be Health and Human Services secretary on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

(Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told a U.S. panel on Tuesday that he wants to ensure people with pre-existing conditions have access to health insurance, though he did not specify how.

Speaking before the Senate Committee on Finance, one of two committees that oversee the health department, Representative Tom Price, a Georgia orthopedic surgeon said “nobody ought to be priced out of the market for having a bad diagnosis.”

“I commit that we will not abandon individuals with preexisting illness or disease,” he said.