National Journal Profiles HHS Agency Officials
In a special issue, National Journal profiles members of the Bush administration, including top HHS officials. A summary of several of the profiles appears below.
- Secretary Tommy Thompson: Thompson, who served four terms as governor in Wisconsin, hopes to "give states more flexibility to test ideas" for new programs and has directed HHS employees to "find ways to say yes -- and quickly." However, Thompson's "take-charge attitude" has some observers "worried about his ability to get along with the White House, especially since his ideas about Medicare and the uninsured aren't always the same as President Bush's."
- HHS Deputy Secretary Claude Allen: States "may find a friend" in Allen, who has pledged to give them "greater flexibility to develop their own health care programs" and "only step in when the states are not measuring up." Still, Allen, who was Virginia's secretary of health and human services before moving to HHS, has received criticism for "being too ideology-driven" and not "drawing more children" into Virginia's CHIP program.
- Surgeon General David Satcher: As surgeon general, Satcher has not "backed away from controversial topics" -- including AIDS, mental health, suicide and needle exchange -- and some attribute his "success in tackling tough issues" to his "insistence that conclusions be based on the best scientific evidence available." Bush will likely replace Satcher, appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1997, when Satcher's term expires in February 2002.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Thomas Scully: Scully, who was president of the Federation of American Hospitals before heading CMS (formerly HCFA), has assumed "one of the most important -- and potentially volatile -- jobs" at HHS. Congress may "overhaul" CMS, potentially "diminish[ing] the agency's power" or "perhaps tearing it in two," with one part administering Medicare and a second running Medicaid. Even "if it remains intact," CMS "will likely be reorganized to place a greater emphasis" on private health plan participation in government programs.
- CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan: Koplan has served as director of the CDC since 1998, and Bush has not named an appointee to succeed him. Known as an "unassuming straight-shooter," he hopes to "rebuild the public health system to ensure its preparedness for health threats" and "strengthen the network" of state and local public health agencies, which have "varying technological capabilities, resources, and legal authority" (Serafini/Fenoglio, National Journal, 6/23).
