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Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius quits after botched Obamacare rollout Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius quits after botched Obamacare rollout
(35 minutes later)
Barack Obama's health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, is to quit after the botched rollout of his signature health reforms led to one of the rockiest periods of his presidency. Barack Obama's health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, is to quit after the botched rollout of his signature healthcare reforms led to one of the rockiest periods of his presidency.
A White House official told the Associated Press that Sebelius, is resigning from the Obama administration just a week after the end of the enrollment period for the new healthcare sytestm. A White House official told the Associated Press that Sebelius is resigning from the Obama administration just a week after the end of the enrollment period for the new healthcare system.
Her decision sets the scene for what will inevitably be a bruising confirmation battle in the run-up to the midterm elections. Her decision sets the scene for what will inevitably be a bruising confirmation battle for her replacement in the run-up to the midterm elections. Sources said Obama was expected to nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace Sebelius.
Obama is expected to nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace Sebelius. The start of the healthcare enrollment process in October last year was marred by the failure of the federal website, which acted as a portal on which people could sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. An expensive overhaul was ordered, but the failure was seized upon by Obama's Republican opponents, who are eyeing the possibility of retaking the US senate in November's midterm elections. They already control the House of Representatives.
More details soon... Last week, when the enrollment period closed for the first year of coverage, the White House announced that 7 million people had signed up, the target set by the administration at the start of the process. But Sibelius's political capital was exhausted by the early failures.
Sebelius, the former governor of Kansas, has been one of Obama's longest-serving cabinet officials. She was instrumental in shepherding the health care law through Congress in 2010 and implementing its initial components, including a popular provision that allow young people to stay on their parents insurance plans until age 26.
But Sebelius's relationship with the White House frayed during last the rollout of the insurance exchanges at the heart of the system. The president and his top advisers said they were frustrated by what they considered to be a lack of information from the Department for Health and Human Services over the extent of the website troubles.
In the months before the exchanges opened, Sebelius assured lawmakers and the public that new health insurance markets would open on time in all 50 states. After technical problems crippled online sign-ups after the launch on 1 October, the White House sent management expert and longtime Obama adviser Jeffrey Zients to oversee a rescue operation. The problems were overcome by the end of the year.
Sebelius dropped no hints about her resignation on Thursday when she testified at a budget hearing.
The next secretary will have to with contend with huge challenges related to the continued implementation of the health overhaul, as well as the divisive politics around it that show no sign of abating.
On the practical side, the administration has to improve customer service for millions of Americans trying to navigate the new system. There's also a concern that premiums may rise for 2015, since many younger, healthier people appear to have waited out open enrollment season.
On the political front, congressional Republicans remain implacably opposed to "Obamacare," even as several Republican governors have accepted the law's expansion of safety-net coverage for the poor under Medicaid. Opposition by congressional Republicans means they can be expected to continue to deny additional funds for implementation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report