Now that the Daschle era at HHS is over before it began, who should ‘take over’?
Bob Laszewski recommends President Obama consider Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D) for the post.
I agree.
Bob points out that Sen Wyden is respected on both sides of the aisle, has demonstrated an ability to subordinate his own ego when needed, and thoroughly understands health care. I met with the Senator in his offices early last year, and came away quite impressed with his deep understanding of the payer community, their motivations and limitations. Sen Wyden has taught gerontology and has been a nursing home regulator. He understands the new media (Wyden introduced his Healthy Americans Act to health care bloggers very early in the process) and communicates quite well.
The Healthy Americans Act remains my personal choice as the best solution on the table. It has:
– broad bipartisan support,
– is revenue neutral,
– eliminates most of the problems in the current system, and
– requires universal coverage.
There’s one other factor that may be just as important to the President in the selection process. Wyden is quite the basketball player; he was a scholarship athlete at UC-Santa Barbara.
Feb
4
There are many choices. Marilyn Tavenner, current Secy of HHS in Virginia has a background in the private sector as well as experience in the public with hospitals, docs, and payers.
Wyden a much better choice than Howard Dean or Kitzhaber
I never hear palliative care mentioned in all the discussions of cost containment. Maybe Sen. Wyden’s experience in gerontology and nursing home regulator will bring insight to this issue. The Dartmouth study showed that patients who were appropriate candidates for hospice lived longer, had better quality of lives and cost the system less than patients treated aggressively (and expensively). Let’s not be afraid we will be labeled as supporting euthanasia to control end of life healthcare costs. Palliative care is the compassionate way to provide care for ourselves, our loved ones and our society when cure is no longer possible.
But, more than his apparent qualifications, has he paid his taxes?