US President Barack Obama has tapped Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be his health secretary to carry out his ambitious health care reform program, the White House said.
A senior administration official said on Saturday that Sebelius had accepted the offer to serve as secretary of health and human services — a position Obama had first offered to former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, who withdrew over tax questions.
Obama was expected to make the announcement today at the White House, the official said.
The 60-year-old governor, a rising star of the Democratic Party, was an early supporter of Obama’s presidential bid. She was also said to be in the running for vice president.
Her nomination came just days after Obama unveiled his budget for next year, in which he allocated US$634 billion over 10 years to finance reforms to make health coverage more affordable and move the country toward universal coverage.
Obama is to hold a bipartisan summit on Thursday for policymakers and legislators to discuss reforms to repair the nation’s ailing healthcare system.
As health secretary, her first foray onto the national stage, Sebelius will be charged with shepherding healthcare reform legislation through Congress in line with Obama’s campaign vow to revamp the US medical system and help more than 45 million Americans lacking health insurance.
Sebelius’ father was an Ohio governor and her father-in-law was a Republican lawmaker from Kansas. She served as Kansas insurance commissioner for nearly a decade before taking office as governor in 2003. She is currently serving her second term.
As insurance commissioner, she blocked the sale of a state private insurance program to a for-profit group in an effort to prevent rates from rising. She also helped draft a national bill of rights plan for patients.
“We know that we’re stronger as a nation when our people have access to the highest quality, most affordable healthcare, when our businesses can compete in the global marketplace without the burden of rising healthcare costs here at home,” Sebelius said last January.
The Democratic president made healthcare reform a major campaign plank and one of his first acts in office was to sign into law expanded healthcare coverage for low-income children.
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