“Health-care reform that reduces costs while expanding coverage is no longer just a dream we hope to achieve — it’s a necessity we have to achieve.”

With this motivational statement, President Obama issued in his long-awaited nominations for HHS Secretary and Director of Office of Health and Reform: Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy-Ann DeParle, respectively.

President Obama has nominated Kathleen Sebelius (D) as the new HHS Secretary. Prior to becoming Governor, Kathleen Sebelius is currently in her second term as Governor of Kansas. Prior to being elected as Governor, Sebelius served as the Kansas Insurance Commissioner for eight years. During both her terms as Governor, she has made affordable health care one of her top priorities. Her goal has been to ensure that all Kansans have access to quality and affordable health care. Sebelius even proposed an innovative child health insurance program that would provide health insurance to all uninsured Kansas children from birth to the age of five.

Kathleen Seblius and President Obama have worked together several times, and have managed to form a close working relationship. The President maintains faith in Sebelius’s health care awareness, acknowledging that she knows the ins and outs of health care, and has been a faithful participant in the fight against the health care crisis. Although there have been some concerns over her support for abortion rights, the Senate expects to approve Sebelius’s nomination quickly and without much conflict.

I share your belief that we can’t fix the economy without fixing health care . . . This work won’t be easy, but bringing about real change rarely is.

-Kathleen Sebelius, responding to her nomination by President Obama

President Obama also named Nancy-Ann DeParle as Director of the White House Office for Health Reform. DeParle has previously served as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and worked in the Office of Management and Budget during Clinton’s administration. DeParle also worked as the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS), supervising both the Medicare and Medicaid organizations.