President Obama Picks Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services Secretary

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a two-term Governor, has been chosen by President Obama to be his cabinet secretary i.e. Health and Human Services. This role involves overhauling our healthcare. She will oversee agencies like the Food and Drug Administration because this agency regulates medications. In addition it regulates food and other items.

She will be in charge of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees health services for people without means and the elderly - often the two coincide.

Governor Sebelius is 60. She was an early supporter of Obama for the Presidential nomination. Sebeluis had been on the short list to serve as Obama's Vice President and her name came up for other cabinet jobs.

President Obama it seems will officially announce this on Monday. Sebelius is known for her ability to play to both Repulicans and Democrats and has experience in the area of health care in Kansas. Before becoming governor, Sebelius spent eight years as the Kansas state health commissioner. Governor Sebelius is a Democrat.

How our healthcare will be reformed will take more than one woman of course. I cannot imagine how daunting a task that is. Reforming our health care systems will cost Americans about $2.5 trillion (That is with a t) but still about 45 million of us will be uninsured. Of course Obama pledged to reform health care during his campaign. His intentions were and I believe are to have health insurance in place for most Americans. A $634 billion reserve fund will help pay for this over the next 10 years.

You may remember that President Obama's first choice for cabinet secretary was the former Senate Democrat leader Tom Daschle. He withdrew his nomination because of income tax problems. Sebeluis' appointment requires Senate approval.

Some anti-abortion groups really don't want her in because it seems she is for a woman's right to choose. It seems she may have had a strong voice in her stand leading Operation Rescue with a bad taste in their mouths. Another group called Catholics Unite like her. They are seen as a more liberal group.

Last year the Governor asked the Kansas Legislature to put into place a health reform program. This program included promoting personal responsibility for health and wellness, paying for preventive care and providing all residents of Kansas with affordable health insurance. Kansas because of Sebeluis has implemented a prescription drug initiative that allows residents to buy lower cost drugs from Canada and Europe as long as the pharmacies have been approved by the state.

Sources

NYDailyNews.com
Reuters