Kathleen Sebelius: HHS secretary

Excellent Choice!

We will miss her here in Kansas. We'd been hoping to send her to the Senate, but this Cabinet post will be good for all.

I remember Gov. Gilligan.

He scared the bejezus out of the corporations who controlled the 3 big cities in Ohio and they managed to get rid of him.

Also they got rid of Dennis Kucinech--but he made a comeback.

Sibelius--anybody checked to see if she's paid her taxes??????

So what happens to the Governorship of Kansas? Do they hold a special election? Is there a lt gov to step up?

This is a fine pick.
Hope she can pass the blowtorch test that's coming.
IMO she should have been a first round pick.

And, she is one of the finest neo-classical composers!

Say hey! I hope Sebelius will have the balls to tackle the corrupt insurance companies and the greedy medical system that has to be bull-dozed and completely rebuilt. Maybe model it after Japan which has the number one health care system in the world. I, personally think Howard Dean would be the one for the tough job. I just hope they get more people in the House and the Senate after the next election as the insurance companies, medical system, and the G. O. P. (GREEDY OLD PR#@KS) will fight it. DAMN THE TORPEDOES, FULL SPEED AHEAD!! whiteagle38

Sebelius’ unwavering support of the bioscience industry in Kansas has amassed significant wins for our region, and we can reasonably expect her continued support in Washington, D.C.

#1 - In 2004, she signed the Kansas Economic Growth Act which created one of the nation’s largest state-sponsored investment funds solely dedicated to our burgeoning bioscience industry.

#2 - KEGA created the Kansas Bioscience Authority which, with Sebelius’ unyielding support, leads the state’s bioscience investment portfolio. Four short years later, Kansas is now recognized as a Top 10 state in biotechnology alongside California, Illinois and Massachusetts.

#3 - She put partisanship aside to lure the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), a $650 million federal research facility, to Manhattan. She solicited support from other governors, Republicans and Democrats. She named a Republican, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, as the Honorary Chairman and encouraged state Republican and Democratic leadership to introduce and pass a $105 million NBAF bond.

#4 – Sebelius has long endorsed the quest for National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive cancer center designation at the University of Kansas. As head of HHS, Sebelius would oversee the agency (NIH) that provides substantial funding for NCI designated cancer centers. The NIH also has programs which fund research in drug discovery and clinical research, both of which are integral components of the KU Cancer Center plan.

Secretary of HHS is the perfect job for Kathleen Sebelius. Her commitment to our industry, paired with her knowledge of our region’s assets and her clear track record of bipartisanship, gives the bioscience community hope when we need it most.

"Don't hang on- nothing last forever but the earth and sky"

There is a Lt. Gov. of KS and he has sated that if she did step down to take the position that it would be a smooth transition. (http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=9878539) Also, Governor Sebelius has been an amazing governor and while she will be missed, it is well time for her to step into the Washington spotlight for all to see how dedicated and driven she is to make a difference.

For Gov. Kathleen Sabelius

Emilio J. Dominguez MD, DFAPA
23 Greens Shade
San Antonio, Texas 78216

April 24, 2009

President Barak H, Obama
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania, D.C. 20500

Re;Health Care Reform-Cost
Controls

Dear Mr. President:

I am a licensed retired physician with experience working in the private and public sectors. I had administrative duties as Medical Director of a Community Mental Heath Center and worked as a Consultant with the Join Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for over 10 years, surveying Psychiatric and General Hospitals.

Whatever form a National Heath Program mat take, such as Tom Daschle’s Federal Health Board or the English or Canadian Health Care Systems, we will need systems to control cost and retain value.

I would like to propose some ideas that I believe will reduce cost, while improving access, services and achieve value to the care of the patients.

1.- There are thousands of retired licensed physicians that would be willing and happy to volunteer their medical knowledge and experience to many patients in many Clinics and Centers, if they had liability protection from the State and the Federal Government.

2.- The Health Care Liability Protection for Health Care Professionals and Health Care Organizations needs to be reformed to reduce litigations’ abuses. This will reduce the costly and unnecessary tests and procedures, done for defensive purposes.

3.- Involve the JCAHO in the development of a National Health Care System and expect them to develop and implement stronger and tougher Utilization Review Standards, since traditional the JCAHO has been emphasizing Quality Improvement Standards, neglecting the importance of cost containment that would bring value to the Quality of Services.

4.- TV and media advertisement of new medications creates a demand for these expensive drugs with a short history of effectiveness and potential risks. Often enough
older, well tried medications can be just as effective or more effective than the newer drugs. The massive and expensive marketing that adds to the cost should be terminated. Patients and families should be provided information by the NIH or FDA about newer and older medications, in a well organized and comprehensive web page

5.- Promote, support and increase the number of non for profit Community Clinics
to provide Comprehensive Services ( Primary Care, Specialty Care, Rehabilitation and Preventive Programs ) by a multidisciplinary team of physicians and other health care providers. Also these Clinics should provide E-Medicine with the services available 24/7 via safe, protected Emails and chat rooms.

6.- Placed Community Mental Health Centers under the Community Health Clinics to reduce administrative overhead expenses. These mergers will provide medical services to the mentally ill that traditionally do not receive good medical care, if any. We also know that many medical/surgical patients need psychiatric/psychological/counseling services to reduce their morbidity and mortality.

7.-Besides mandating Electronic Medical Records, you should also mandate Electronic Prescribing Systems (EPS) to reduce medical/pharmaceutical errors. The EPS helps the Administration with the Medical Director to monitor prescribing practices and help those that do not follow the approved Clinical Guidelines.

8.- Mandate Health Insurance Comp. to provide as part of their membership a participation in their approved Health Club, to encourage their clients to exercise and participate in classes to improve and maintain their health. Humana has a Silver Sneakers Program worth emulating..

9.-Incentivice Medical Schools to increase the number of Primary Physicians. We have only a 30 % of the total medical profession, while other countries in Europe have a 50 %.

10.-Incentivice Universities and Health Care Facilities to train and graduate more
Physicians Assistants (PA) and Nurse Practitioners, for they can prescribe and take care of many medical problems, including the care of the chronic patients and the geriatric population.

With hope and my best wishes for a National Health Care Program, I remain

Sincerely yours

Emilio J Dominguez MD, DFAPA

Cc: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Senator Edward Kennedy

Senator Max Baucus

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

I have worked since I was 12 years old. Recently I have become very ill, and I have been terminated from my position and lost my medcial insurance. I am under the care of hospice due to my condition, which is getting worst day by day. I applied for my SSI benefits and I was denied because "accordin to SSI experts I wasn't sick enough or my doctors couldn't give a report the I will die in 12 months". I voted for President Obama for his health plan. I don't know how much longer I can survive with medical attenion. In my denial it gave me a place online to submit a apeal. I went to site and it stated to hire an lawyer. I really think the SSI has a long way to go.

The nation is focused on healthcare reform - or to very precise we are focused on health insurance reform. Should we be looking at the forest or the trees? OK, a colonoscopy costs about $3,000 per person. Should we discover a way to lower this cost to $2,100 per person? Or are we simply striving to lower the total number of colonoscopies that health insurance will fund.

Let's introduce the Power Of The Consumer. If Americans purchased health services in the same way that they purchase appliances, computers, wide screen TVs, automobiles then the $3,000 cost of that colonoscopy would surely be lowered.

The two most expensive things to repair are the automobile and the human body - WHY? because the consumer presently has no vested interest seeking a lower cost solution - "The insurance company will pay for it."

Madame Secretary:

The reformed health care system must have as its mission the health of the nation. Therefore, the Surgeon General should measure the health of the nation, expressing it as something like the Gross National Health Index.

-- From this, individuals would be able to compare their health and fitness against those of others in their own gender and age groups.
-- The system, including health care providers, insurors and the public, could generate economic incentives for health improvements (premium discounts) based on this measure.
-- The Surgeon General could identify statistically the best (and the worst) practices in medical care.
-- The system would access all medical records to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse as well as to compose the Gross National Health Index (with ironclad protection of privacy and proprietary information).

In the long-term, the health of the public would be improved at costs the public can afford.

Theron White
Pompano Beach, Florida

PS The private option can serve to improve the range of choices in the marketplace for health insurance and health maintenance programs.

Kathleen Selebius
I trust you, I think.

Misuse of authority has become commonplace as Oversight Committees, Damage Control, and self-monitoring entities “Never Make Mistakes”. They will go the extra mile to solicit erroneous data in validating convictions to further their biased agenda.
Should you have a conscious and are a person that takes pride in due diligence to the responsibility of your position, I call on you to seek truth in the following and expose the facts to our citizens, post haste. I saw hesitance in your beleaguered speech contradicting what you had previously stated with conviction. This is a good sign.
Let us look at the adverse politics of Cigarette Smoking: provides cause to impose biased taxes, discrimination in health care and Insurance provisions, societal antagonism and discriminatory revenue while providing reasonable doubt for all adversity to smokers care and treatment. If this fallacy had validity, cures for certain cancers would have been discovered. To perpetuate this atrocity further, second hand smoke is even worse and don’t forget the effects of third hand smoke. Nothing on the horizon but more dissention.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure but it reduces revenues and enhances our health.
What adverse effects do genetically altered foods have on our growing health issues, obesity and chronic ailments, as far as nutritional value and cancer potential?
Has it been stated that salt and sugar substitutes are beneficial to our health or are they really contributing to more problems, as they are deemed detrimental to wellness and removed from shelves. Maybe if natural substances were used in moderation our bodies could better ward off the intrusions of nature as opposed to money generating synthetics the human body has no ability to breakdown and affects our organs in a most negative manner.
What adversities befell citizens with Steroid enhanced beef and milk production? Obesity, chronic asthma, ill temperament and learning deficiencies are a few that come to mind yet steroids were denounced by government as providing any harmful side effects. Of course they have been banned in the athletic arena as both mind altering and life threatening. Go figure!
What dangerous health potentials exist in chlorinated and fluoridated drinking water since multitudes of medications have been found to be contaminating our elixir of life? How is it possible that we consume water with chlorine levels hundreds of times higher than is allowed by law in swimming pools? Does consumption of fluoride really make one submissive and somewhat lethargic by slowing the thought process? Is there any ill effect from mineral deficient drinking water that the public should be aware of? Should there be concern for dumped prescription meds building up in our fatty tissue?
Government bodies and our elected officials can no longer compromise Americans health and wellbeing for Political Rationale and personal gratuity.
We have many new comers in Congress that have moral values, character and ethics that will fight to protect and preserve our Constitution and the people’s values. We the people will do our share and rid Washington of the stagnant inbred that have ruled the roost for the last fifty years. We the people will change Washington before it changes us.

Respectfully yours,
Edward A. Wilson Jr.