President Barack Obama is rounding out his health-care overhaul team Monday by naming Nancy-Ann DeParle, a veteran of the Clinton administration, as the White House health czar.
DeParle will be announced with Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who is the president’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary.
The decision to appoint DeParle, who has been working at a New York private equity firm and serving on corporate boards, shows that Obama has decided to split into two the job once meant for Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who was tapped as both health secretary and health czar. Daschle was forced to step aside last month amid questions about his taxes.
DeParle brings a long resume of health care experience, and a reputation as a no-nonsense businesswoman and lawyer. She served as the Tennessee commissioner of human services in the late 1980s and spent the 1990s in the Clinton administration as a health care adviser at HHS, the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Health Care Financing Administration.
The White House reached out to her two weeks ago to consider the Cabinet post and the czar position, which does not need Senate confirmation.
DeParle is managing director of CCMP Capital and sits on the boards of corporations such as Medco Health Solutions, Cerner and Boston Scientific – affiliations that could present potential conflicts of interest.
But allies of DeParle argued that if the White House is looking for someone with experience in government, policy and business, she would fit the description.
Obama will also announce the release of $155 million in economic stimulus money to support 126 new health centers that serve the uninsured and underinsured.
The grants are expected to create 5,500 jobs at the new health centers, according to a White House release.
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