Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius launched on Monday the new HHS Office of Health Reform.
The office, part of President Barack Obama's efforts to pass health reform this year, will coordinate closely with the White House Office of Health Reform. Both offices were created April 8 by a presidential executive order.
"The skyrocketing cost of healthcare is crushing families and businesses and we must enact health reform this year," Sebelius said. "The HHS Office of Health Reform and the White House Office of Health Reform will work in tandem to advance legislation and take immediate actions to cut costs, assure quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans and guarantee Americans can choose their doctor and their health plan."
Jeanne Lambrew will lead the HHS Office of Health Reform. She was previously an associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and worked on health policy in the Clinton administration.
Michael Hash has been appointed senior advisor to run the inter-agency process for developing specific aspects of health reform legislation consistent with the president’s priorities. He will be an assignee at the White House Office of Health Reform, assisting in the preparation of administration positions and communicating with Congress, according to an HHS statement. Prior to his appointment, Hash held senior positions at the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and on the staffs of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a private health policy consulting firm.
Sebelius has appointed Neera Tanden to work on developing healthcare policies for HHS and the administration. The former domestic policy director for the Obama-Biden campaign and policy director for the Hillary Clinton campaign, she oversaw healthcare work on both campaigns. She has also worked in think tanks, the Senate and the Clinton administration.
Other staff will include Linda Douglass as director of communications; Meena Seshamani, MD, as director of policy analysis; Caya Lewis as director of outreach and public health policy; Jennifer Cannistra as policy analyst and director of special projects; Karen Richardson as outreach coordinator; and Michael Halle as special assistant.