Obama names Daschle HHS secretary

Former Senate majority leader Thomas Daschle has been nominated to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services by President-elect Barack Obama. In this position, Daschle will be chief of the department that oversees Medicare and Medicaid, among other programs. Obama previously announced that Daschle will head his administration’s policy-making group on health care, which has been charged with shaping the health reform ideas presented during his campaign into legislation.

Some see this appointment as a way for Obama to shepherd comprehensive health reform legislation through Congress. A veteran congressman who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representative and three in the Senate, Daschle became more involved in the U.S. health care system after his time in office, serving on the Board of Trustees of the Mayo Clinic and co-writing the book “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.”

In the book, published earlier this year, Daschle expresses similar health reform ideas to those expressed by Obama, namely to support employer-sponsored health care while also creating a federally-backed insurance system to expand health coverage to more Americans. Unlike Obama, he supports a health insurance mandate for all Americans. Obama’s proposal only mandated that children have health insurance. One key idea, which Obama was quoted by the Washington Post as saying “held great promise” was Daschle’s idea to create an independent body to oversee health policy, similar to how the Federal Reserve Board oversees the U.S. financial system.

As for how this appointment will affect Texas family physicians, TAFP CEO Tom Banning sees promise. “Senator Daschle has a passion for health care and understands the value of family medicine and primary care. His appointment to lead HHS provides a real opportunity to address some fundamental flaws in our health care delivery system and payment models.”

While transition officials have confirmed the appointment, Obama has not officially announced any of his cabinet appointments. The Senate must confirm Daschle before he assumes the post.