Madison, Wis., Natives Have Set ‘Remarkable Standard’ at HHS, Washington Post’s Broder Says
Washington Post political columnist David Broder writes that "the two folks who migrated from Madison, Wis., to the top job at the Department of Health and Human Services ... have set a remarkable standard for leadership." Broder says that since taking over in January, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) has offered the "same kind of energy and independence" that made the tenure of Donna Shalala, former head of HHS and former University of Wisconsin chancellor, "a success." Although the two are from opposite political parties, Broder writes that Shalala and Thompson "share a certain feistiness and down-to-earth realism which made them partners in their Madison days." Shalala used her "wit to disarm the Republicans" in Congress and "managed to get record boosts in funds" for the NIH and "other parts of her large domain," Broder writes. He adds, however, that she "sometimes had less luck at the White House" and warned Thompson to "mind his relations" with the Bush administration.
Thompson's 'Careful Line'
Broder points out that Thompson "is learning how right Shalala was to predict that the White House would cause him more problems than Congress." On embryonic stem cell research, Thompson has "walked a careful line, making clear his own support for the research while telling everyone that he will accept whatever decision President Bush makes," Broder writes. He adds that Thompson -- "knowing that Bush had declared during the campaign that abstinence-only programs had a higher claim to federal funds" -- "did not equivocate" when family planning groups "complained" that HHS had delayed waiver applications from states that sought to provide contraceptive services. According to Broder, Thompson ordered HHS to approve two of the requests and promised that "all the others would also be approved," provided that they offer women primary care services in addition to family planning. Broder also writes that Thompson "recognizes the constraints on federal and state health care budgets but is determined to reduce the number of uninsured Americans every way he can," adding that the Medicaid reforms Thompson announced last weekend -- which would allow states to reduce benefits for optional beneficiaries and to use the money to expand coverage to the uninsured -- would "encourage states to do just that." Broder concludes by saying that new Medicaid reforms are "[a]nother reason to say to Madison: Keep sending us good people" (Broder, Washington Post, 8/8).
