Texas Physicians Reportedly Up for Top Bush Administration Health Slots
Dr. Ward Casscells, a faculty member at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center and a member of the Bush administration's Health and Human Services Transition Advisory Team, said Wednesday that he has submitted about 75 names for 25 health positions in the administration, and nearly half of his selections hail from Houston, the Houston Chronicle reports. According to the Chronicle, President Bush may tap Dr. John Mendelsohn, president of the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, to head NIH, and Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, head of prostate cancer research at M.D. Anderson, to serve as surgeon general. Casscells said, "There are just so many health leaders in Houston. Maybe I'm a little bit biased," adding, "It's important to recommend people of complete integrity. You're most certain about someone's integrity if you know them and work with them, so naturally there would be a lot of Houston people on my list." He added that administration officials "didn't give [him] any pro-life criteria." Other names that Casscells submitted included: Dr. Red Duke, a UT-Houston faculty member; Dr. James Willerson, interim president of the UT-Houston Health Science Center; and Dr. Ralph Feigin, president of the Baylor College of Medicine and physician-in-chief of Texas Children's Hospital. Although Casscells declined to comment on which candidates he recommended for specific positions, the Chronicle reports that Bush may appoint them to serve as FDA commissioner, CDC administrator or one of a number of positions within HHS agencies. Casscells said that Bush may announce appointments next week (Hopper, Houston Chronicle, 2/22).
The Florida Influence
Meanwhile, the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports that the appointment of Ruben King-Shaw, director of Florida's
Agency for Health Care Administration, to head HCFA "may be in trouble." On Tuesday, the trade journal Medicine & Health Daily reported that Federation of American Hospitals President and CEO Thomas Scully "now appears to be the frontrunner" for the position (Kestin, Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 2/21). Roll Call issued a similar report last Thursday (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 2/16). To help "revive" King-Shaw's bid for the position, a group of Florida lawmakers last week sent a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, touting the Florida health administrator as "an outstanding executive and public official." They also praised his efforts to curb costs in Florida's Medicaid prescription drug program, which saved the state $244 million in the first year. "If we get people from Florida in high positions in this administration, it's a real positive for the state of Florida," Rep. Dan Miller (R) said (Kestin, Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 2/22).
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