Obama Says Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be Secretary of
HHS, Releases $155 Million for Health Clinics
Leading Health Care Expert Nancy-Ann DeParle to serve
as Director of White House Office for Health Reform
March
2, 2009 - Today, President Barack Obama officially announced his intent
to nominate Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and
Human Services. Sebelius will oversee a department with wide-ranging
responsibilities essential to senior citizens, including the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services. She will also be responsible for the
implementation of the President's vision for health care.
As Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Sebelius will work with Democrats and Republicans alike to cut costs,
expand access, and improve the quality of health care for all
Americans, says the White House news release..
Nancy-Ann DeParle, one of the nations leading
experts on health care and regulatory issues, will serve as Counselor to
the President and Director of the White House Office for Health Reform.
As commissioner of the Department of Human Services in Tennessee, she
saw firsthand the health care systems impact on workers and families.
In the Clinton Administration, DeParle handled budget matters for
federal health care programs, and took on the tremendous task of
managing Medicare and Medicaid.
"If we are going to help families, save businesses,
and improve the long-term economic health of our nation, we must realize
that fixing whats wrong with our health care system is no longer just a
moral imperative, but a fiscal imperative. Health care reform that
reduces costs while expanding coverage is no longer just a dream we hope
to achieve its a necessity we have to achieve, said President Obama.
"And today, I am proud to announce key members of
my team who will be critical to that effort: Kansas Governor Kathleen
Sebelius for my Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Nancy Ann
DeParle as Director of the White House Office for Health Reform."
President Obama today also announced the release of
$155 million authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
that will 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 health care services.
"We have acted quickly to put Recovery Act dollars
to good use in communities across America," said President Obama. "The
construction and expansion of health centers will create thousands of
new jobs, help provide health care to an estimated 750,000 Americans
across the country who wouldnt have access to care without these
centers, and take another step toward an affordable, accessible health
care system."
The grants, which are administered by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), are expected to create 5,500 jobs at the new
health centers.
The White House Blog adds:
Overhauling our health care system is going to take
the will to fight entrenched special interests and lobbyists, the
patience to work across party lines, and a little Kansas common sense.
"Kathleen Sebelius has a remarkable intellect,
unquestioned integrity, and the kind of pragmatic wisdom youll tend to
find in a Kansan," President Obama said as he announced the Kansas
Governor as his choice to lead the Department of Health and Human
Services. "I know she will bring some much-needed grace and good humor
to Washington, and she will be a tremendous asset to my cabinet."
The governor of Kansas since 2003,
Secretary-designate Sebelius has a reputation for reaching across the
aisle to work with Democrats and Republicans alike,
while standing firm for what she believes in the face of pressure
from special interests. And before being elected governor, she served as
Kansas Insurance Commissioner from 1994-2002 -- so she knows her stuff.
That's also true of Nancy Ann DeParle, the
President's choice to lead the White House Office of Health Reform and
one of the nation's top health care experts. She learned firsthand how
our broken health care system can impact workers and families as
Tennessee's commissioner of the Department of Human Services. And she
saw the big picture in the Clinton administration, where she handled
health care budget issues and managed Medicare and Medicaid.
March
2, 2009 - Today, President Barack Obama officially announced his intent
to nominate Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and
Human Services. Sebelius will oversee a department with wide-ranging
responsibilities essential to senior citizens, including the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services. She will also be responsible for the
implementation of the President's vision for health care.