Washington Post Examines Challenges Facing Incoming HHS Secretary, Including Potential Overhaul of U.S. Health Care System

In addition to the traditional role of the HHS secretary, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), the likely nominee, will assume a "daunting responsibility: shepherding health care reform legislation through Congress," the Washington Post reports.

Charles Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, said, "This really creates a new type of secretary." Previously, "HHS was more or less a service organization to the White House," and White House advisers led health policy efforts, Kahn said. Dan Mendelson, a White House budget and health policy adviser in the Clinton administration, said, "There are two aspects to the challenge of pushing for health reform. One is to get the right concepts together with what Congress wants to do, and the other is managing the disparate concepts and generous egos."

According to the Post, as Daschle "will focus heavily on crafting and pushing legislation, there will be an even greater need for a strong No. 2" to help manage the 11 agencies at HHS. Len Nichols, director of health policy at the New America Foundation, said that Daschle will "need to have deputies who are well-versed in the agency as a whole and who can manage the ongoing operation of HHS while he leads the health reform discussions" (Connolly, Washington Post, 12/5).

Speech
Daschle on Friday plans to deliver a speech in Denver to begin an effort by the administration of President-elect Barack Obama to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, "Daschle will emphasize the importance of moving forward even amid the economic crisis, noting that rising health care costs put more pressure on businesses and must be addressed."

According to prepared remarks, Daschle is expected to say, "There is no question that the economic health of this country is directly related to our ability to reform our health care system." He will add that Obama "made health care reform one of his top priorities of his campaign" and that "his commitment to changing the health care system remains strong and focused." In addition, Daschle will discuss the need to expand health insurance to more U.S. residents, reduce health care costs and improve health care quality. Daschle will not outline a timetable for action by the Obama administration on health care reform, the Journal reports.

Daschle, who had cited the need for feedback from individuals, health insurers and policy experts on health care reform, recommends that individuals host holiday house parties during which they discuss the issue (Meckler, Wall Street Journal, 12/5).

Reuters on Friday examined the Obama health care proposal (Fox, Reuters, 12/5).

FDA, Safety Issues
House Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) on Wednesday sent a letter to Obama that asked him to name new officials to lead FDA and remove all current agency officials, the Journal reports.

In recent weeks, some congressional leaders and Democratic officials have discussed the possible nomination of FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Janet Woodcock as interim or permanent FDA commissioner, but Stupak wrote that current agency officials should not retain their positions or receive promotions because they "are too close with the industries they regulate, creating a question of who they are working for." He cited the need for a "complete change in the FDA's leadership." Stupak did not name any specific FDA officials in the letter.

Current FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach has not announced plans to resign, but he "is expected to leave soon," according to the Journal. Other possible replacements for von Eschenbach include Joshua Sharfstein, commissioner of the Baltimore Health Department, and Steven Nissen, chief of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic (Mundy, Wall Street Journal, 12/5).

Broadcast Coverage
CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Thursday as part of a series titled "Extreme Challenges: President Obama" reported on the health care challenges that the Obama administration will face (Gupta, "Anderson Cooper 360," CNN, 12/4).