People in the news

Kathleen Sebelius

Health and Human Services Secretary (since April 2009)

Why She Matters

A popular two-term Democratic governor in a predominantly Republican state, Sebelius became President Barack Obama's choice for Health and Human Services secretary in late February 2009. Sebelius made the cut after former HHS nominee Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) withdrew his name from contention because of tax problems, leaving Obama with a big void as he launched a sweeping effort to revamp health care. The Senate confirmed her in April 2009 after some concerns from conservatives regarding her pro-abortion rights stance.

During her eight years as Kansas insurance commissioner, Sebelius regulated insurance companies and developed a reputation for standing up for consumers. She prevented Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Kansas from being sold to an out-of-state company, and attempted several changes to the health-care system that mostly failed.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Governor of Kansas (2003 to February 2009); Kansas Insurance Commissioner (1995 to 2003); Kansas House of Representatives (1987 to 1995); Director, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (1978 to 1986)
Birthday: May 15, 1948
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Alma Mater: Trinity College, B.A. (political science), 1970; University of Kansas, M.P.A., 1977
Spouse: The Honorable K. Gary Sebelius

Religion: Roman Catholic
State Office: Office of the GovernorCapitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 212STopeka, KS 66612-1590(877) 579-6757
Email
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Path To Power

Sebelius' father, John Gilligan, was a one-term Democratic governor of Ohio, who considered a presidential run in 1976 (Sebelius is the first daughter of a governor ever to be elected to the same position). She spent much of her childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, helping out on her father's city council campaigns and, by the time she was in college, Sebelius was campaigning to elect her father governor.

Sebelius graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., in 1970. There, she met Gary Sebelius, a Georgetown Law student, whose father Keith Sebelius, was a Republican congressman from Kansas. They married in the Ohio governor's mansion in 1974 and moved to Topeka, Kansas. Gary is now a federal magistrate judge for the District of Kansas, and likes to refer to himself as the "First Dude."

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In Kansas, Sebelius worked as an aide to the head of the Department of Corrections from 1975 until 1977. That year, she also received her master's degree in public administration from the University of Kansas.

In 1978 she became director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, where she continued until deciding to run for the Kansas legislature in 1986.

Insurance Commissioner and Governor

Sebelius served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1987 through 1994, when she became the first Democrat elected as Kansas Insurance Commissioner. In that role, Sebelius developed a reputation for standing up to insurance companies, including demanding prompt payment from health- insurance companies to health-care providers. After winning re-election with 59 percent of the vote, she was the presumptive Democratic candidate for the 2002 governor's race.

In that contest, Sebelius won partially by appealing to moderate Republicans concerned about education spending. In one of her first acts in office, she cut state spending to solve a budget crisis. In 2005, Time magazine named her one of the nation's top five governors. In 2006, she was re-elected with 58 percent of the vote in a state where registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats by a few hundred thousand.

Sebelius was a frequent campaigner for Barack Obama in 2008 and was rumored to be on the short list for the number-two spot on his ticket. But in December 2008, she withdrew her name from consideration for a post in Obama's cabinet, saying she wanted to stay in Kansas to work on the state's budget problems.

But Sebelius was term-limited and set to finish her second gubernatorial term in early 2011; many had predicted she would run for the Senate in 2010. In February 2009, Obama recruited her as his Health and Human Services secretary, after Tom Daschle withdrew his name.

In March 2009, Sebelius revealed to the Senate Finance committee that she owed more than $7,800 in back taxes. She was unable to provide receipts for some charitable donations and business expenses she had claimed, and she mistakenly took a mortgage interest deduction on a house she had already sold. Some conservative lawmakers also objected to Sebelius' pro-abortion rights stance, and a donation from an abortion provider. She was confirmed, 65 to 31, on April 28, 2009.

The Issues

Salon.com has called Sebelius "a passionate advocate of political moderation, as oxymoronic as that may seem." That's how the governor who twice vetoed a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed weapons and supports abortion rights succeeds in a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964.

As Kansas governor, Sebelius developed a reputation as an efficient manager when she resolved a $1.1 billion budget deficit by ordering a thorough review of state government spending. She cut costs with measures such as reducing the state's motor vehicle pool and standardizing business cards. "While her administration suggested the initiatives led to $1 billion in savings, critics said the effort was more show than substance," the Associated Press reported.

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Health Care

During her first months in the Obama administration, Sebelius' political skills were tested when she became a prime voice for health-care reform in a controversial debate. She made news in August 2009 when she suggested that a government-funded health-care alternative wasn't essential to reform.

"I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," Sebelius said, adding that a government insurer was not an "essential element" in reform. She signaled that the Obama White House was open to non-profit cooperatives as the alternative.

Indeed, a public insurance option was not included when, after more than a year of legislative wrangling, the House passed the Senate version of health-care reform on March 21, 2010, clearing the way for the Senate to approve a package of amendments insisted on by the lower chamber with a simple majority (using a process known as reconciliation).

The $940 billion bill requires most Americans to carry health insurance and requires that insurance companies cover them, regardless of pre-existing conditions. It establishes a national insurance exchange allowing Americans to compare and purchase insurance plans. The bill will be paid for by increasing taxes on well-off Medicare recipients and by taxing premium insurance plans. By the end of the bill's 10-year roll-out, 32 million uninsured Americans will have health coverage and the deficit will be $138 billion lower, the Congressional Budget Office estimated.

Past Reform Efforts

During her eight years as Kansas insurance commissioner, Sebelius oversaw the department that regulates and licenses health-insurance agencies, and advocates for consumers using health-insurance services. Sebelius developed a reputation as an advocate for consumers who was willing to stand up to insurance companies. In 2002, Modern Healthcare Magazine named her to its list of the 100 most powerful people in health care, citing her "aggressive campaigns to force insurers to promptly pay claims."She became chairwoman of the National Insurance Commissioners' Association and blocked the sale of Kansas Blue Cross, Blue Shield to an Indiana firm, arguing that the move would dramatically increase costs for Kansans.

As governor, Sebelius made several attempts at health-care reform in Kansas. In 2004, she tried to fund an expansion of health-care to 70,000 low-income Kansans with a 97-cents-a-pack increase on cigarettes, but the measure failed to gain approval from the GOP-controlled legislature. But she did succeed in allowing Kansas to join the I-SaveRx program that allowed certain states to refill prescriptions from other countries like Canada.

In 2008, she tried again with a 50-cents-a-pack cigarette tax, but Republicans also stymied that effort. In 2005, she also tried, and failed, to consolidate all state health programs under one state agency. The Kansas Health Policy Authority was ultimately created, but the GOP claimed most of the credit.

In her 2007 State of the State address, Sebelius called for universal health care for Kansans, but declined to detail how she would pay for it; Republicans dubbed the idea "Hillarycare" in reference to former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's failed 1993 reform effort.

Sebelius condemned President George W. Bush for vetoing an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and called offering health care to children a "moral obligation."

Obama Supporter

Sebelius endorsed candidate Obama in January 2008, and campaigned fiercely on his behalf, often acting as a surrogate to women's groups.

In July 2008, Sebelius was mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick who could appeal to feminists after Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the Democratic presidential nomination. At the time Obama gushed, "I love Kathleen Sebelius," Salon.com reported. "I think she is as talented a public official as there is right now. Integrity. Competence. She can work with all people of all walks of life."

Of course, Sebelius was not chosen for the vice presidential slot. After Obama's election, she was rumored to be a top pick to run a number of departments, including labor, energy and agriculture.

But in December 2008, Sebelius announced that she had removed herself from consideration for a cabinet position so she could work on budget problems in Kansas.

Bipartisanship

"We don't know what a liberal is in Kansas," Mike Hayden told Salon.com. Hayden, a former Republican governor, was a member of Sebelius' cabinet.

Sebelius is known for her ability to work with both side of the aisle to get things done. "It's the only way she can be an effective governor in a Republican state," her lieutenant governor, Mark Parkinson (D), told Salon.com. Parkinson, a former Republican chairman of Kansas, left the GOP to run with Sebelius in 2006.

The Network

Sebelius was an early Obama supporter, coming out in favor of the candidate in early 2008. She often represented him on the campaign trail, especially to women's groups.

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) reportedly considered Sebelius as his vice presidential nominee in 2004.

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Additional Resources