President Barack Obama added two key leaders to his push for healthcare reform on Tuesday, with support from across party lines. He nominated Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services and Nancy-Ann DeParle to be his point person on healthcare in the White House.
The announcement comes as the president prepares to hold a bipartisan healthcare reform summit this week to push movement on Capitol Hill.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who will hold a pivotal roll in moving healthcare reform legislation, called the president's pick "good news."
"Governor Sebelius is a strong choice for Health and Human Services secretary. I'm particularly pleased to hear of her selection because she brings such solid experience to the position," he said. "Passing comprehensive healthcare reform is an absolute imperative this year, and as a former insurance commissioner Governor Sebelius really gets what needs to be done. Added to that, she's accustomed to working together with Democrats and Republicans to get things accomplished. Healthcare reform is my number one priority this year, and I'm ready to work with a strong partner like Governor Sebelius to make it happen."
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, congratulated Sebelius on her nomination and said he looked forward to speaking with her about her vision for HHS and the administration’s intentions for healthcare reform this year.
"We need bipartisan, fiscally responsible action this year to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable healthcare," Enzi said. "The president has pledged to work on healthcare reform in a bipartisan way. There are going to be areas where we disagree, but I hope and expect that by focusing on solutions, we can produce meaningful results for hard-working Americans."
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, said Sebelius is the right person to move the president’s healthcare agenda forward. "She is a proven leader with extensive knowledge of healthcare issues and a long history of working effectively across the political aisle," she said.
"Kathleen Sebelius has a remarkable intellect, unquestioned integrity and the kind of pragmatic wisdom you’ll tend to find in a Kansan," Obama said at the announcement Tuesday. "I know she will bring some much-needed grace and good humor to Washington, and she will be a tremendous asset to my cabinet."
Sebelius said she was "deeply honored" by the president's faith in her and she shares his passion and personal commitment to healthcare reform. "This isn't a partisan challenge, it's an American challenge," she said. In Kansas, she served as the state's health insurance commissioner for eight years.
Ignagni also praised the DeParle nomination, saying she brings "considerable experience and a strong track record working on all of the healthcare issues facing the nation."
DeParle, who headed up the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) from 1997 to 2000, serves on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the advisory panel to Congress on Medicare payment issues. During the Clinton Administration, she was associate director for health and personnel at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
DeParle will be leaving a managing director position at CCMO Capital to serve as counselor to the president and director of the White House Office for Health Reform. The White House called her "one of the nation's leading experts on healthcare and regulatory issues."
"If we are going to help families, save businesses and improve the long-term economic health of our nation, we must realize that fixing what’s wrong with our healthcare system is no longer just a moral imperative, but a fiscal imperative," Obama said. "Healthcare reform that reduces costs while expanding coverage is no longer just a dream we hope to achieve - it’s a necessity we have to achieve,"
The president also announced Tuesday the release of $155 million authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support 126 new health centers. These health centers will help people in need - many with no health insurance - obtain access to comprehensive primary and preventive healthcare services.
Photo by marcn and obtained under Creative Commons license.
