Obama taps Kan. Gov. Sebelius as health chief

[WoodysGirl]

By Ricardo Alonzo-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – 51 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama turned to Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Monday to help him overhaul a health care system whose cost has risen four times as fast as people's wages in recent years.

"Health care 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," Obama said as he introduced Sebelius as his choice to be secretary of health and human services and Nancy-Ann DeParle, a health policy figure during the Clinton administration, to head the White House Office for Health Reform.

"There's no easy formula for fixing our health care system," Obama conceded. But he added: "I didn't come to Washington to take the easy route ... I came here to work for the American people. I came here to deliver the sweeping change that they demanded when they went to the polls in November."

Obama brought Sebelius and DeParle to East Room of the White House on Monday afternoon, just days before he holds a White House summit on health care. Lawmakers from both parties and representatives of major interest groups, from insurers to drug companies to consumers, will attend.

The president also said he would release $155 million in the $787 billion economic stimulus measure to support 126 new health centers to give people more access to primary and preventive health care services. He said he was mindful of the difficulty ahead as he seeks to expand health care coverage, expecting tough choices and likely trade-offs.

Said Sebelius: "The work won't be easy, but bringing about real change rarely is."

Sebelius, who must be confirmed by the Senate, and DeParle will fill roles that the president wanted former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to hold as he tries to shepherd his health overhaul agenda through Congress.

Daschle would have worn two hats: health secretary and head of a White House health reform office. But Daschle withdrew his nomination after disclosing he had tax problems. That left the new administration scrambling to find a substitute secretary.

Among the 60-year-old governor's first challenges: winning lawmakers' support — and confirmation — to lead a vast bureaucracy that handles everything from Medicare to cancer research to food safety. She will also be a very public face for Obama's plans for health care, although DeParle will handle many of the new policy moves.

If confirmed, Sebelius will assume her new role as the recession has taken its toll on Medicare, which provides health care for older people and the disabled. Plunging tax revenues have weakened the program's giant hospital fund, accelerating its projected insolvency to as early as 2016. That is only about five years after the first baby boomers will start signing up for services.

The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, is reeling from a seemingly endless series of safety lapses.

Sebelius is seen as a steady hand and an experienced public official who knows how to work across political lines. But she represents Obama's backup plan and will have to establish a working relationship with many key players. Daschle, a former Senate majority leader, intimately knew the ways of Washington and health care stakeholders.

Obama made his opening move on a health care overhaul last week: his speech to Congress and a budget that set aside $634 billion over 10 years as a down payment on coverage for all. It's a goal that could ultimately cost $1 trillion or more.

Obama wants to expand coverage while slowing the rate of increase in costs. Administration officials say they hope that will lead to a more affordable system, without the coverage gaps that leave an estimated 48 million people uninsured.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090302/...h/sebelius_hhs

[masomenos]

::waits patiently for tax scandal::

[tyke1doe]

Originally Posted by masomenos85

::waits patiently for tax scandal::

[WoodysGirl]

Originally Posted by masomenos85

::waits patiently for tax scandal::

Sad, but true...

[Cajuncowboy]

Originally Posted by masomenos85

::waits patiently for tax scandal::

Nice one.


Seriously though, if this happens, Obama should just crawl under a rock for the next four years. How pathetic this would be.

[ChldsPlay]

She already had her tax scandal as Governor of Kansas. Couldn't control the budget and thus couldn't afford to pay tax refunds until Republicans forced her to cut spending.

[JBond]

I'm so happy the bimbo is gone from my state. The downside is everyone will now be affected by her big spending liberal ways.

[ShiningStar]

Originally Posted by JBond

I'm so happy the bimbo is gone from my state. The downside is everyone will now be affected by her big spending liberal ways.

OKay, does politics work like Hollywood, you fail upwards? How do you fail at being a governor and still get promoted? Than i want to know, how do you get into this line of work, i can be a failure. I'm pretty sure, i mean i got promotions at my various jobs, but im sure i can stop that. Can I have a state to tank?

[JBond]

Originally Posted by ShiningStar

OKay, does politics work like Hollywood, you fail upwards? How do you fail at being a governor and still get promoted? Than i want to know, how do you get into this line of work, i can be a failure. I'm pretty sure, i mean i got promotions at my various jobs, but im sure i can stop that. Can I have a state to tank?

We went from years of surpluses to years of deficits under her reign of tax terror. Between her and the county commissioners, property taxes have gone up 81% in the past 9 years. that is just one example. Another is they are withholding state tax returns this year because we are out of money. Last summer she vetoed a state of the art clean coal plant. I could go on and on. She is your typical crazy big spending lib.

[masomenos]

Originally Posted by JBond

We went from years of surpluses to years of deficits under her reign of tax terror. Between her and the county commissioners, property taxes have gone up 81% in the past 9 years. that is just one example. Another is they are withholding state tax returns this year because we are out of money. Last summer she vetoed a state of the art clean coal plant. I could go on and on. She is your typical crazy big spending lib.

So, why is it that she had one of the highest approval ratings as governor?

[Hoofbite]

Originally Posted by masomenos85

So, why is it that she had one of the highest approval ratings as governor?

Who knows.

Or why was she named one of the top 5 governors by Time a couple years ago?

Or maybe why she go reelected in a state that is dominantly Republican?

Check out a small part of the little article from Time.

For Kansas governor kathleen Sebelius, the problem was simple. "There were too many cars in the parking lot," she says. Right after the Democrat surprised political experts in 2002 by winning the Governor's race in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats almost 2 to 1, she needed to erase a budget deficit estimated at $1.1 billion. A commission that Sebelius appointed to find government waste discovered that the state owned hundreds of cars it didn't use. So she sold 700 of them and forbade state agencies to buy more. The money earned from the car sale was small, but it showed that the new Governor was determined to find savings anywhere she could, from having all state agencies join together to bid for computers to asking state housekeeping workers to wear their own pants instead of government-issued ones. Through spending cuts, fee increases and some borrowing, Sebelius was able to balance Kansas' budget in her first [View Full Quote]year in office without raising taxes or cutting funding for education.

—By Perry Bacon Jr. With reporting by Karen Tumulty

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...129494,00.html


Yeah, she sure sounds like "another crazy big spending lib" doesn't she?

[TheCount]

Originally Posted by JBond

I'm so happy the bimbo is gone from my state. The downside is everyone will now be affected by her big spending liberal ways.

Who refers to a woman as a bimbo? Geez.

[DIAF]

Originally Posted by Hoofbite

Who knows.

Or why was she named one of the top 5 governors by Time a couple years ago?

Or maybe why she go reelected in a state that is dominantly Republican?

Simple. It's probably because they are mostly moderate Republicans, who as we all know are really liberal Democrats that spend all day surfing DKos and reading HuffPo.

[burmafrd]

Well DIAF finally figured it out. Took him long enough.

[MetalHead]

Originally Posted by TheCount

Who refers to a woman as a bimbo? Geez.

If i dare mention one Sarah Palin,even one of the Mods will revolt.
So...shhhhhhhhhhhhhh,boy.