Obama taps former Senate chief Daschle to head HHS

The nominee has proposed creating a federal health board to increase the transparency and value of health care spending.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. Dec. 8, 2008.


Washington -- Praise for the nomination of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to be the next Dept. of Health and Human Services Secretary began even before President-elect Barack Obama's transition team confirmed the pick had been made.

At press time, Obama had not confirmed that Daschle would be his choice to head HHS. However, Democratic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make announcements for the next administration, indicated that the South Dakota Democrat had accepted the president-elect's request to be the nominee. Also, Obama on Nov. 19 named Daschle to head the transition team's working group on health care. This means Daschle will be the incoming administration's point person on health care policy and legislative priorities.

The initial reaction to Daschle as the HHS nominee was largely positive. "Daschle would be an effective leader of the nation's health department," said American Medical Association Board of Trustees Chair Joseph M. Heyman, MD.

The nomination still requires Senate approval. Sen. Max Baucus (D, Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said Daschle would be a great pick for HHS chief. "Daschle knows health care, he knows the Congress and the rhythms of the Senate in particular."

The Republican National Committee criticized Obama for using what they consider a loophole in his pledge not to appoint lobbyists to key positions in his administration. Daschle is not a registered lobbyist, but since 2005 he has been a special policy adviser on health care issues for the law firm Alston and Bird, which does lobby Congress.

Daschle served in the House from 1979 to 1987; the Senate from 1987 to 2005. He was Senate majority leader for part of 2001 and 2002 and continued to lead the party in the upper chamber until he lost his re-election bid in 2004. Since 2005 he also has been a fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal policy organization.

In 2007, Daschle joined former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker (R, Tenn.), Bob Dole (R, Kan.) and George Mitchell (D, Maine) to form the Bipartisan Policy Center. The organization is dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions on difficult policy issues, such as health care, and its recommendations on health reform are due by the end of this year.

Daschle also wrote a recent book on health system reform. Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis calls for more government analysis and regulation of health care spending. He proposes creating a federal health board that would set standards for the health care industry in much the way the Federal Reserve Board does for the financial industry.

Daschle writes that the government should pay more for high-quality care that leads to good outcomes and stop paying for unnecessary care. To this end, for example, the health board could sponsor comparative effectiveness research on medical treatments to help set evidence-based standards for federal health programs.