Kansas Governor Seen as Top Choice in Health Post

Apparently, Gov Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kansas), an early Obama ally with a record of working across party lines, is emerging as the president's top choice for secretary of health and human services. Should she be nominated, Gov Sebelius would bring eight years of experience as her state's insurance commissioner as well as six years as a governor running a state Medicaid program. But with President Obama about to begin a drive to expand health coverage, an issue on which the two parties have deep ideological divisions, her strongest asset in the view of the White House may be her record of navigating partisan politics as a Democrat in one of the country's most Republican states. Gov Sebelius resolved a state budget crisis on Tuesday and plans to be in Washington from Saturday through Tuesday for a meeting of the National Governors' Association. Asked about the health and human services job, her spokeswoman, Beth Martino, said the governor was "focused on the economic challenges currently facing Kansas, including our state budget and the impacts of the federal stimulus package." If she becomes health secretary, she will be the fourth woman in the 15-member cabinet, overseeing 65,000 employees and a $700 billion budget. But she is unlikely to also wear the second hat that Mr. Daschle negotiated for himself as White House health czar, a position that could be influential in setting health care policy. As Kansas insurance commissioner, Ms. Sebelius helped draft a proposed national bill of rights for patients and blocked the sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield to an out-of-state company because it would have raised premiums. She served as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and often testified before Congress.