Obama Picks Sebelius as Health Secretary

Governor of Kansas Is Nominated to Head Department of Health and Human Services

By Todd Zwillich
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

March 2, 2009 -- President Barack Obama officially nominated Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

If she's approved by the Senate, Sebelius will take over as HHS secretary just as the Obama Administration prepares to launch a major health reform effort. The president also named Nancy-Ann DeParle, a former federal and state health official, to head a new White House Office for Health Reform.

Obama put forward Sebelius, a Democrat from a Republican-leaning state, as a person willing to work across party lines.

"Time and again, on energy and education, jobs and health care, she's bridged the partisan divide and worked with a Republican legislature to get things done for the people of Kansas," Obama said at a White House ceremony Monday.

Sebelius is the president's second choice to head HHS, which not only runs Medicare and Medicaid, but also controls the FDA, the CDC, and the National Institutes of Health.

Obama praised the efforts of Sebelius to balance her state's budget and to spread health coverage to more children in Kansas.

"As a governor she's been on the front lines of our health care crisis. She has a deep knowledge of what the burden of crushing costs does to our families and businesses," the president said.

Tom Daschle, a former Senate Majority Leader, withdrew as Obama's first HHS nominee last month because of a controversy over unpaid income tax.

"This is not Daschle," says Robert Moffitt, PhD, director of the Heritage Foundation Center for Health Policy Studies. "Daschle had a heavy pedigree in health policy she does not, to be honest. At least at the same level."

Still, Moffitt says, "she was a Democratic governor in a Republican state, which is a real tribute to her political skill."

In a statement, American Medical Association president Nancy Nielsen, MD, says the experience of Sebelius as a governor and state insurance commissioner gives her "the right skill set" for leading HHS.

Daschle was also slated to head the White House Office for Health Reform, where he would have spearheaded efforts to pass the president's health care reform efforts in Congress. The White House job instead will go to DeParle, a former head of Medicare and Medicaid and also a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Sebelius will face confirmation hearings in both the Finance and the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committees in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid praised Sebelius for reaching across party lines. "She is an extraordinary leader who does not let partisanship get in the way of doing what is right."

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the senior Republican on the health committee, says he's "eager" to evaluate the nominee.

"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," he says.

SOURCES: President Barack Obama. Robert Moffitt, PhD, director, Heritage Foundation Center for Health Policy Studies. Sen. Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader. Nancy Nielsen, MD, president, American Medical Association. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.

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