As a member of the National Governors Association’s executive committee, Sebelius led the health-care portion of the December 2 meeting with President Obama and Vice President Biden and has promoted the health care provisions in the stimulus. According to the AP, Sebelius has even budgeted “a small part of its federal stimulus money” to “add about 8,000 kids to the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.”
In fact, a review of Sebelius’ record suggests that she’s a practical proponent of Obama’s health principles, willing to pursue, promote and defend comprehensive reform, despite political opposition.
As Insurance Commissioner for Kansas from 1994 to 2002, Sebelius refused to accept contributions from the insurance industry and blocked a merger between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and Anthem, an Indiana insurer. The merger “drew opposition from many Kansas doctors, hospitals and nurses, as well as an advocacy group for poor and working-class families” and would have increased premiums “by $248 million over fiver years.” Sebelius, however, “turned the office of the Insurance Commissioner into an activist regulator, pursuing HMOs who denied care and pushing for cheaper prescription drugs for seniors.”
Sebelius continued to promote health care reform in the governor’s office, focusing primarily on cost containment. To improve efficiency, Sebelius ordered that all of the state’s major health care programs, including Medicaid, be “streamlined into a new business division called the Kansas Health Policy Authority” and launched the HealthyKansas initiative to promote prevention and wellness initiatives.
Moreover, the Governor’s Health Care Cost Containment Commission pursued many of the health care ideas incorporated into the stimulus. The commission included “representatives of the health care provider community, business community, health plans, legislators and other stakeholders in the health care community” and developed strategies to reduce unnecessary administrative costs and facilitate the adoption of a state-wide health information technology and exchange system.
The group explored ways to establish an “interoperable health information exchange,” created task-force to develop state-wide standards for health insurance ID cards, and formed a public-private partnership to plan and implement “a health information infrastructure capable of accurately and efficiently recording and tracking all aspects of health care delivery and payment.”
It wasn’t until January 2007, however, that Sebelius made a coordinated public push towards expanding health coverage for children under five. “We must commit ourselves to the goal that all Kansans will have health insurance and we must begin now,” Sebelius said during her State of the State address. “My budget takes an important step toward achieving that goal by making sure every young Kansas child has health coverage.”
While the effort ultimately failed, Sebelius’ decision to pursue expansion in the political jungles of Kansasian conservatism, suggests that the governor is more than capable (and willing) to fight the uphill battle for health reform. All in all, her ability to reach health policy decisions by soliciting the views of a broad spectrum of stakeholders suggests that she’ll be an important player in promoting Obama’s health reform agenda and a strong consensus builder.
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/02/19/sebelius-hhsBut Sebelius is not just your average governor, and she did more than just find ways to improve Medicaid and health care services in her state. She gained prominence as the State Insurance Commissioner from 1994 to 2002. Before Sebelius, the position had been rather cozy with the insurance companies and HMOs operating in the state. But during her improbable first run, Sebelius refused to accept contributions from the insurance industry – a foretaste of things to come. When Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas wanted to merge with an Indiana insurer, she not only refused to rubber-stamp the deal, she blocked it. She turned the office of the Insurance Commissioner into an activist regulator, pursuing HMOs who denied care and pushing for cheaper prescription drugs for seniors. And here’s the kicker – she did so while also reducing the operating budget by 19% over her tenure.
http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/ok_how_about_sebelius_for_hhs_thenThe cost of health care has risen 5 times faster than wages over the past 6 years and that’s having a huge impact on Kansas families.
We’ll continue our efforts to reduce the administrative overhead eating up a third of every health care dollar, working with health providers to use technology to reduce costs. We’ll also increase the resources available to help our most vulnerable neighbors, ensuring there are no home care waiting lists for the frail elderly and Kansans with physical disabilities, and providing new help to families of children with autism.
But it’s time to go further. We must commit ourselves to the goal that all Kansans will have health insurance and we must begin now. We must commit ourselves to universal coverage, improved quality of care, and increased affordability.
That’s why I challenge you to work with me, the Health Policy Authority and stakeholders to develop a plan – this year – to achieve universal coverage. There’s already support for this in both parties, and broad support among Kansans for real action on health care.
My budget takes an important step toward achieving that goal by making sure every young Kansas child has health coverage. I again call on you to allow our children a healthy start in life.
--Governor Kathleen Sebelius’ 2007 State of the State Address
http://www.governor.ks.gov/news/sp-stateofstate2007.htm --------------
MORE INFO:
The Governor’s Health Care Cost Containment Commission; EXECUTIVE ORDER 04-14
http://web.archive.org/web/20070221015014/www.governor.ks.gov/executive/Orders/exec_order0414.htmHealthyKansas Initiative
http://www.healthykansas.org /
Kansas Health Information Exchange Roadmap; Commissioned by the Governor’s Health Care Cost Containment Commission
http://www.governor.ks.gov/ltgov/healthcare/items/KansasHITBrief.pdfSebelius appoints Health Information Exchange Commission
http://www.governor.ks.gov/news/NewsRelease/2007/nr-07-0207a.htmElectronic health cards can lower health costs, says Lt. Gov Moore; Governor’s taskforce working on electronic health ID cards
http://www.governor.ks.gov/news/NewsRelease/2006/nr-06-0501a.htm--------------
ON THE ISSUES: Kathleen Sebelius on Health Care
First step of overhaul: health care to 10 million children
I-Save-Rx: low-cost prescriptions from Canada and Europe
Insure all Kansas children from birth to age five
Cutting Medicaid will increase numbers of uninsured
Obtain better prices for prescriptions & services
Require adequate insurance coverage for agritourism
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Kathleen_Sebelius_Health_Care.htm--------------
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