75.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesChristensen Congratulates Obama's Health Appointments

Christensen Congratulates Obama's Health Appointments

March 3, 2009 – Delegate Donna M. Christensen Tuesday sent out congratulations to the two people named by President Obama to serve in the country's top health posts.
The National Medical Association and the Congressional Black Caucus had suggested Christensen's name for the post of Health and Human Services secretary. (See "Could Christensen Go from Congress to the Cabinet?")
Obama named Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to the Health and Human Services post and Nancy-Ann DeParle to the job of counselor and director of the White House Office for Health Reform.
"I want to sincerely congratulate Gov. Sebelius and Ms. DeParle for these great honors and for having the leadership, courage and dedication to the health and well being of all Americans to accept these challenging roles," Christensen said in a press release issued Tuesday.
Christensen pointed out that the country needs health care reform because "people of color" continue to lag behind on every health and wellness indicator and die prematurely from preventable diseases. According to the press release, Sebelius has experience and a breadth of health policy knowledge as a former state insurance commissioner and as someone who oversaw the Medicaid program for the low-income population in Kansas during her tenure as governor.
Sebelius unsuccessfully tried to expand health coverage in her the state through higher cigarette taxes, but managed to add tens of thousands of low-income children to state health programs. Christensen called those efforts a sign of a woman ahead of her time who will complement the positive direction that this nation has taken with regards to health and health care.
Additionally, DeParle has health and health care expertise. She served as the Tennessee health commissioner and managed the Medicaid and Medicare programs in the Clinton Administration.
"I look forward to working with both of them on health care reform, on reauthorizing and instituting key health programs and initiatives and supporting the department and office in every way possible," Christensen said. "Given their collective dedication to and record of success at closing gaps in health care, I especially welcome the opportunity to work with them to ensure that health disparity elimination and achieving health equity are integral elements of our nation’s health care reform platform."

Back Talk

Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.