Sebelius, Podesta on Obama's Short List to Replace Daschle

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A top official in the Obama administration says that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is at the top of the list to replace former Senator Tom Daschle as President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Health & Human Services, according to the AP/Kansas City Star. This comes after Daschle withdrew his nomination last week, leaving many wondering about the future of U.S. health care reform.

Sebelius has been praised by advocacy groups for the “watchdog role” that she played for eight years as insurance commissioner before she became governor. The Kansas Governor was an early supporter of Obama’s campaign for the presidency. After Obama won the election in November, she was in consideration for several cabinet posts. In early December though, she announced that she had removed herself from consideration for a Washington job, citing Kansas' budget problems that needed her attention.

Also on Obama’s short list is former White House chief of staff under President Clinton, John Podesta, and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredeson. Some advocacy groups are reportedly lining up to oppose the nomination of the Democratic governor from Tennessee. Bredeson remains under consideration but was not as likely as Sebelius to make the final cut, the senior official said.

As governor, Bredesen reduced the state's Medicaid beneficiaries by 170,000 adults in 2005 as a result of budget constraints, and reduced benefits for thousands more TennCare beneficiaries, according to the AP/Austin American-Statesman. In 1980, Bredesen founded a health maintenance organization called HealthAmerica Corp., which became the country's second-largest HMO before he sold it in 1986 for about $400 million.

Critics of Bredesen, who say he has administered the largest public health insurance cuts in U.S. history, say that the cuts illustrate why he is "the wrong person to lead an effort to expand health insurance coverage."

Others argue that Bredesen had to make difficult decisions that ultimately led to the preservation of Tennessee's struggling health care system, thereby averting disaster.