With the resignation of Kathleen Sebelius and the expected nomination of Sylvia Mathews Burwell to the role of Health and Human Services secretary, the Obama administration has the chance to turn over a new leaf in the so-far bumpy road to ACA implementation.
President Barack Obama is expected to announce the nomination of Burwell, director of the Office of Management and Budget, today.
Sebelius led HHS as it prepared for the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Now Burwell will put her managerial skills to use, as it’s time to execute. Burwell served several different roles under the Clinton administration in the ’90s before taking on executive roles at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and later the Walmart Foundation.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Time’s Kate Pickert outlined some of the key duties that will fall on Burwell’s shoulders in What Sebelius Left Undone:
- Now that the first open enrollment period for the new insurance exchanges is complete, her top priority will likely be overseeing preparations for the next open enrollment period beginning in November. The administration estimates that 24 million Americans will sign up for coverage by 2017. Gail Wilensky, an economist and health policy expert, told Time the goal will be “to ensure the next enrollment is nothing like the last enrollment period.”
- There are still a number of ACA provisions not yet in place that Burwell will need to follow through with, including the employer mandate which was delayed until 2015 and the Cadillac tax on high-cost health plans starting in 2018.
- Only about half of states have opted to expand their Medicaid programs, a key component of the ACA. Sebelius had been working out compromises with Republican governors who turned down federal funds to expand the program because they oppose the ACA, and had appeared to be making progress. Burwell will likely continue the effort.
[Image credit: Wikipedia]
