This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/10/health-secretary-kathleen-sebelius-to-quit-after-botched-obamacare-rollout

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius quits after botched Obamacare rollout Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius quits after botched Obamacare rollout
(about 1 hour later)
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. Sebelius,
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. who oversaw the creation of the Affordable Care Act and has been a
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. lightning rod for criticism over its bungled rollout, will formally make
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. the announcement on Friday.
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. Her
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. departure comes less than seven months before the midterm elections, in
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. which Democrats across the country fear they will be punished at the
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. polls over the introduction of the healthcare law, known as Obamacare.
Sebelius dropped no hints about her resignation on Thursday when she testified at a budget hearing. A
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. White House official told the Guardian that Obama would announce
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. Sebelius’s departure at 11am on Friday. The announcement will be made in the
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. Rose Garden of the White House. Obama, standing beside his vice president Joe Biden, will announce his nomination for her replacement is Sylvia Mathews Burwell.
The Associated Press contributed to this report Burwell has been director of White House’s Office of Management and Budget since April. She was unaminmously confirmed in that post by Congress, a sign that Obama hopes to avoid a protracted and bruising confirmation process.
“Secretary
Sebelius notified the president in early March of her decision,” said
the White House official, who was not authorised to speak on the record.
“At
that time, secretary Sebelius told the president that she felt
confident in the trajectory for enrollment and implementation of the
Affordable Care Act, and that she believed that once open enrollment
ended it would be the right time to transition the department to new
leadership.”
The official added: “The president is deeply grateful for her service.”
The
White House will hope Sebelius’s departure will bring to an end one of
the rockiest chapters of Obama's presidency, which began in October
after the federal healthcare website – a crucial portal on which people could
sign up for health insurance – was beset by technical issues.
Millions
of people were unable to access the site, amid crashes and glitches,
and at periods it seems the fiasco would derail the entire healthcare
law.
Republicans
pounced on the bungled rollout of the federal law, which also led to
some Americans losing their insurance plans, despite being promised by
Obama they could keep their existing arrangements.
Sebelius
has been health and human services secretary since 2010, and her role
as a chief architect of Obamacare, a hugely complex piece of
legislation, was instrumental in the decision to keep her in post, even after the website failures.
The
timing of her departure appears to have been carefully orchestrated to
capitalise on the unexpectedly high numbers of people who enrolled on
for new healthcare plans before the deadline drew to a close last week.
Contrary
to early fears that the stuttering website and disastrous press
coverage would lead to insufficient numbers of uninsured people signing
up to under the new healthcare exchanges, Obama announced earlier this
month that more than 7 million people had enlisted. The figure was
higher than expected, providing a much need boost to Obama’s flagging
presidency. The White House is desperate to press home the impression it has turned a corner in the healthcare debate.
A
former governor of Kansas, Sebelius is one of Obama’s longest-serving
cabinet members, although their relationship has been strained by
the flawed rollout of the healthcare law which, despite recent
improvements, will leave an indelible mark on his second term in the
White House.
Hours
before the announcement of her departure was leaked on Thursday,
Sebelius appeared on Capitol Hill, where has
routinely been hauled before Senate and House committees for a grilling. She
made no mention of her intention to stand down when she appeared before
the Senate finance committee. Instead, she announced 400,000 more
people had enrolled for healthcare under the new law than first
reported, taking the total tally to 7.5 million.
The
additional figures were accounted for by a decision by Sebelius to
allow extend the deadline individuals who have had trouble signing up
for plans, from 31 March until 15 April. It was one of several deadline
extensions and last-minute changes introduced by the administration
in recent months to keep Obamacare afloat.
The
administration has not said how many of those who have already signed
up for insurance closed the deal by paying their first month’s premiums.
Neither have Sebelius or other senior officials said how many people
lost their plans because their did not meet the requirements of the ACA.
Despite
repeatedly being pressed by senators to shed more light on the figures,
Sebelius resisted the questioning and – much as she has over the last
five months – absorbed the heat on behalf of the administration.
By
appointing Burwell as her replacement, Obama has opted for an official
that has not been too closely associated with the creation of Obamacare,
although she has had a front-row seat druing rollout fiasco in her role
at the OMB. Previous
to her administration post, Burwell ran the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, and a shorter stint as president of the Walmart Foundation.
She
was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to run the government’s crucial
budget department less than a year ago, potentially making it more
difficult for Republicans to object to her appointment. Still,
her confirmation process is likely to be fraught, with Republicans, who
advocate entirely repealing Obama’s healthcare law, determined to
punish the president and his party over the flawed rollout of the law.
“The president sought a nominee with strong credentials in management,
implementation, and performance for this important role,” the White
House official said, adding that Burwell has “a record of building
bipartisan consensus to get things done”.
Around
50 million Americans lacked health care coverage before the
introduction of Obama’s divisive healthcare reforms. The law’s passage
in 2010, and withstanding of a Supreme Court challenge and the 2012
presidential election, make it the single most important domestic legacy
of Obama’s presidency.