Sebelius, HHS pick, ready for Senate

by Noam N. Levey

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius won the backing of a divided Senate Finance Committee today, likely clearing the way for her confirmation as President Barack Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Sebelius, the last of Obama's Cabinet nominees awaiting confirmation, has received endorsements from Democrats and a handful of Republicans, who praise her record of pushing health reform as governor and insurance commissioner of Kansas.

But Tuesday, eight Republican lawmakers voted against her nomination, including Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the committee and a leading healthcare authority in the Senate whom some Democrats had hoped will support health reform legislation later this year.

Many Republicans are growing increasingly resistant to the president's healthcare agenda, even as senior senators continue to work with their Democratic counterparts on major health reform legislation that is expected to be considered later this year.

Conservative Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, accused Sebelius today of supporting research into the comparative effectiveness of drugs and medical procedures that critics say could open the door to the government denying coverage of more expensive care.

"The administration is unwilling to support pro-patient safeguards," Kyl charged.

The final committee vote was 15-8, with two Republicans joining every Democrat on the committee in backing Sebelius. A vote on the nomination is expected on the Senate floor in the next week or two.

As head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sebelius would assume responsibility for the federal government's largest domestic department, a 65,000-employee behemoth charged with overseeing the severely strained Medicare and Medicaid programs and a host of other agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration.

But she will also be expected to play a major role in leading Obama's campaign to overhaul the nation's healthcare system to expand coverage, improve quality and control rising costs.

Obama initially hoped that former Sen. Tom Daschle would play that role as HHS secretary and head of the newly created White House Office for Health Reform.

The president settled on Sebelius for the Cabinet post after Daschle was forced to withdraw his candidacy following revelations that he had not paid more than $128,000 in taxes and accepted tens of thousands of dollars in speaking fees from sectors of the healthcare industry.

Leading the White House office is Nancy-Ann DeParle, a former Clinton administration official who oversaw Medicare and Medicaid in the late '90s.