Obama Nominates Harvard Hospitalist, Early Health Law Supporter To Be Surgeon General

President Obama nominated Dr. Vivek Murthy, a hospitalist at Harvard and an early supporter of the health law, to be the nation's surgeon general.

The New York Times: Obama Selects Health Policy Advocate As Surgeon General
President Obama nominated Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, an early supporter and grass-roots advocate for the Affordable Care Act, as surgeon general on Thursday. Dr. Murthy, 36, is a founder and the president of Doctors for America, a group that campaigned for the health care law before Congress passed it in 2010 and that was an outgrowth of Doctors for Obama, which worked to help elect the president in 2008 (Kenny, 11/14).

Politico: President Obama Nominates Vivek Hallegere Murthy For Surgeon General
He is the co-founder and president of Doctors for America, which began as Doctors for Obama in 2008. He is a hospitalist attending physician and instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School (Haberkorn, 11/14). 

The Boston Globe: Obama Nominates Boston Doctor As Surgeon General
President Obama will nominate Dr. Vivek Murthy of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital as surgeon general of the United States, the White House announced Thursday night. Murthy is a hospitalist at the Brigham and is co-founder and president of Doctors for America, a Washington, D.C.-based group of physicians and medical students that advocates for access to affordable, high quality health care. If he’s confirmed by the Senate, Murthy would replace acting surgeon general Boris Lushniak (Gil, 11/15).

Read related KHN interview with Murthy: Fixing Health Care Isn't About Party, 'It's About Building A Sustainable System' - The KHN Interview (Kulkarni, 11/24/2012).