Prevention Matters

The Wall Street Journal's Jacob Goldstein blogs a brief but interesting profile on Kathleen Sebelius, the Kansas governor who currently appears to top the list of candidates for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

"Sebelius spent eight years as her state’s insurance commissioner — key experience for a job that includes overseeing Medicare, the gargantuan federal insurance program for the elderly," Goldstein writes. "During that time, she blocked the sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield to an out-of-state company because it would have raised premiums, the NYT says, and served as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

"During her two terms as governor, her administration has been notably bipartisan — she was elected to her first term with a former Republican businessman as her running mate, and ran a second time with the former state Republican party chairman on her ticket, the NYT reports. That’s important, given the polarizing nature of health-care questions, and the power Republicans still wield in the Senate.

"Still, she’d be unlikely to hold the dual role planned for Daschle, which included not only running HHS but also holding down an office in the White House to spearhead Obama’s health-reform plans."