President Barack Obama has issued executive orders to establish a new White House Office of Health Reform.
The office will advise the president on health reform issues and be headed by Nancy-Ann DeParle, who was tapped for the position earlier this year.
According to the April 8 executive order, the mission of the new office will be to help reform the U.S. healthcare system by "providing leadership to the executive branch in establishing policies, priorities and objectives for the federal government's comprehensive effort" to improve access, quality and sustainability of the nation's healthcare system.
The executive order calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to establish its own Office of Health Reform, which will "coordinate closely" with its White House counterpart.
The new White House Health Reform Office has been assigned to coordinate efforts with the Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, Council of Economic Advisers, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Personnel Management and other agencies. It will also work with state and local governments to expand coverage and contain costs.
DeParle, who headed the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) from 1997 to 2000, now serves on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the advisory panel to Congress on Medicare payment issues. During the Clinton administration, she was associate director for health and personnel at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Nancy Nielsen, MD, president of the American Medical Association, said DeParle is "an excellent choice" to lead the new office.
Richard Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said DeParle has a "deep understanding of both policy and politics will help drive needed reform in healthcare."
DeParle will be instrumental in the aggressive Congressional push, headed by the Senate Finance Committee, to pass comprehensive healthcare reform before the July 4 recess.
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