Barack Obama has not wasted time soaking in his win for presidency. Instead, he is quick to work at putting together some of his team. He has already chosen a Chief of Staff, a press secretary and a senior advisor.
So speaking of political appointments, who will President-Elect Obama choose as his Secretary of Health and Human Services? A report from Bloomberg believed that the front-runners are former Senate leader Tom Daschle and Kathleen Sebelius, the current governor of Kansas.
The Bloomberg report also threw out Donna Shalala as a potential candidate, as well. Shalala was HHS Secretary under President Bill Clinton. It might not be a safe bet who Obama will choose, but it is a safe bet to think the new secretary won't have much in common with who currently holds the job.
Secretary Mike Leavitt has supported Bush's policies and attempted to enhance the individual health care industry. He also was against the expansion of the SCHIP.
Obama's administration will have a job to do when they take on Bush's health care policies. For instance, recently, Bush made federal rules making it nearly impossible for a state to expand their SCHIP programs.
Some states actually sued the White House over the rules. Whomever becomes the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, we can guess that they will be a stark difference from Mike Leavitt.