HHS Sebelius is finally resigning

[downtown]

After quite a few people were calling for her head after the disastrous rollout of Obamacare, HHS Kathleen Sebelius is finally resigning, now that the program seems to have turned a corner (and is actually working).

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/us/politics/sebelius-resigning-as-health-secretary.html?hp&_r=1

Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, is resigning, ending a stormy five-year tenure marred by the disastrous rollout of President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Obama accepted Ms. Sebelius’s resignation this week, and on Friday morning, he will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace her, officials said.

The departure comes as the Obama administration tries to move beyond its early stumbles in carrying out the law, convince a still-skeptical public of its lasting benefits, and help Democratic incumbents, who face blistering attack ads after supporting the legislation, survive the midterm elections this fall.
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Officials said Ms. Sebelius, 65, made the decision to resign and was not forced out. But the frustration at the White House over her performance had become increasingly clear, as administration aides worried that the crippling problems at HealthCare.gov, the website set up to enroll Americans in insurance exchanges, would result in lasting damage to the president’s legacy...

Here is some background about the woman Obama has nominated to replace her: http://www.vox.com/cards/hhs-confirmation/who-is-sylvia-mathews-burwell

And here is Vox.com answering a question I think a lot of us are wondering..why didn't she leave sooner?

Calls for Sebelius's resignation were almost constant after Obamacare's catastrophic launch. But President Obama refused. As National Journal's Major Garrett reported, Obama believes that "scaring people with a ceremonial firing deepens fear, turns allies against one another, makes them risk-averse, and saps productivity." Moreover, there was too much to be done to fire one of the few people who knew how to finish the job. Sebelius would stay. The White House wouldn't panic in ways that made it harder to save the law.

The evidence has piled up in recent weeks that the strategy worked. Obamacare's first year, despite a truly horrific start, was a success. More than 7 million people look to have signed up for health insurance through the exchanges. Millions more have signed up through Medicaid. And millions beyond that have signed up for insurance through their employers.

Healthcare.gov isn't perfect, but it works. We don't yet know how many young people signed up in March, but it's clear that there are enough of them to keep premiums stable in 2015. It's clear that insurers are going to stick with the program in 2015, and compete hard to sign up next year's wave of young, healthy applicants.

That creates the context in which Sebelius can leave the administration.

http://www.vox.com/cards/hhs-confirmation/what-does-sebelius-resignation-mean-for-obamacare

Is that a sound strategy? What do you think of her replacement? How will Sebelius be remembered? I remember thinking she should have been canned several months ago, but I might be able to be talked in to Obama's management philosophy here.

 

[BvBPL]

You don't change horses midrace, even if things are going badly. I'm not sure Sebelius was to blame for the disastrous problems of the roll-out, but the buck stops with her as the head.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You don't change horses midrace, even if things are going badly. I'm not sure Sebelius was to blame for the disastrous problems of the roll-out, but the buck stops with her as the head.

Well, she at least waited until the problems were ironed out and they even hit their enrollment goals. She will be forever remembered in the public's imagination as a failure I think for the failed roll-out. A more balanced look at her would probably show her in a much more forgiving light but at this point people have been trained to think 'Obamacare BAD' despite the enormous benefits it's already providing to millions of Americans.

 

[Farm Boy]

but at this point people have been trained to think 'Obamacare BAD' despite the enormous benefits it's already providing to millions of Americans.

It's just subsidizing fatties Hobbs.

 

[Zelig]

The US government's entire approach to IT is garbage, it seems silly to fire/resign a single public figure because of an institutional failing.

 

[JollyRoger]

I am disappointed Obama isn't going to appoint that Mozilla dude to take her place.

 

[aelf]

Good to see someone taking responsibility over a disaster. Wish this would more readily happen here. Instead, we have a cult of 'meritocracy' that shields elites from responsibility.

 

[metatron]

Good to see someone taking responsibility over a disaster. Wish this would more readily happen here. Instead, we have a cult of 'meritocracy' that shields elites from responsibility.

This.

Feel free to imagine me having used multiple exclamation marks.
Pet peeve: And it's not even a "disaster". People should stop blaming the stars for their faults.

 

[IglooDame]

Good to see someone taking responsibility over a disaster. Wish this would more readily happen here. Instead, we have a cult of 'meritocracy' that shields elites from responsibility.

Wait, sorry, where does it say she's resigning as part of taking responsibility for a disaster?

 

[aelf]

It was not a disaster in the sense that it was a natural disaster or some kind of catastrophe, obviously

 

[metatron]

Wait, sorry, where does it say she's resigning as part of taking responsibility for a disaster?

Well...

"...made the decision to resign and was not forced out. But the frustration at the White House over her performance had become increasingly clear..."

So i kinda took that as implied / the best one gets nowadays. I suppose aelf did so, too.

It was not a disaster in the sense that it was a natural disaster or some kind of catastrophe, obviously

Sure, but that we even have to use the qualifier "natural" shows how successful the newspeak is. Elites use terms like this one all the time to introduce ambiguity to the fact that they recklessly (or in many cases even deliberately) did not control what they were suppose control.

 

[JollyRoger]

I hope this doesn't foreshadow Obama giving up his post in 2017.

 

[IglooDame]

Well...

"...made the decision to resign and was not forced out. But the frustration at the White House over her performance had become increasingly clear..."

So i kinda took that as implied / the best one gets nowadays. I suppose aelf did so, too.

Ah. Fair point, I suppose. Expecting an actual "buck stops here" attitude and explicit acceptance of responsibility is probably just too unrealistic in today's political climate.

 

[IglooDame]

It was not a disaster in the sense that it was a natural disaster or some kind of catastrophe, obviously

Sorry, that wasn't the focus of my question, maybe I should have left out the "for a disaster" part.

 

[Light Cleric]

Ah. Fair point, I suppose. Expecting an actual "buck stops here" attitude and explicit acceptance of responsibility is probably just too unrealistic in today's political climate.

Apparently the White House is trying to spin it as she's resigning because her work is done, since Obamacare is such a success.

Not much responsibility there, I'm afraid. Then again they really haven't said much so it's hard to gather anything.

You know I sometimes wonder how this whole thing would have turned out if Tom Daschle knew how to pay taxes

Okay apparently Obama said this according to WaPo:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced her resignation Friday, ending a tumultuous tenure as the public face of the Affordable Care Act. In a Rose Garden ceremony, President Obama nominated his budget director as her successor.

“After five years of extraordinary service to our country, and seven and a half million Americans who’ve signed up for health coverage through the exchanges,” Sebelius has earned the right to step down, Obama said.

“Under Kathleen’s leadership, the team at HHS turned the corner,” he said. “And we are proud of her for that. That’s a a historic accomplishment.”

So, uh, yeah, let's not pat anyone on the back for taking responsibility here, at least not any more than anyone else in Washington "takes responsibility".

 

[aelf]

Ah. Fair point, I suppose. Expecting an actual "buck stops here" attitude and explicit acceptance of responsibility is probably just too unrealistic in today's political climate.

Agreed, and that was kind of my point, actually, in the context of my country.

 

[BvBPL]

A more balanced look at her would probably show her in a much more forgiving light but at this point people have been trained to think 'Obamacare BAD' despite the enormous benefits it's already providing to millions of Americans.

What balances out the debacle of the roll out? How many puppies does she need to save to balance out that nonsense of the roll out?


The initial roll out was an unmitigated debacle.

The benefits of the ACA do not moderate her roll in it. She was responsible for the roll out, not, say, the ACA allowing adult children to stay on their parents' insurance. She doesn't get credit for that.

 

[Antilogic]

And here is Vox.com answering a question I think a lot of us are wondering..why didn't she leave sooner?


http://www.vox.com/cards/hhs-confirmation/what-does-sebelius-resignation-mean-for-obamacare

Is that a sound strategy? What do you think of her replacement? How will Sebelius be remembered? I remember thinking she should have been canned several months ago, but I might be able to be talked in to Obama's management philosophy here.

I'm still confused on the timing here--I get the point the Vox piece is making on her expertise being required to fix the problems, ceremonial firings aren't effective, and so on. But if the intention was that she would be fired resign gracefully all along because of the bad rollout, why wasn't this done sooner for the political points? Now, the Obama administration has converted a news cycle talking about the promising-looking numbers into one about the head of the agency resigning.

 

[onejayhawk]

I suspect the timing had more to do with the amount of crow on the menu than political advantage.

On a personal note, another Kansas Democrat bites the dust.

J

 

[classical_hero]

I talked to my cousin at his engagement party last Saturday, he lives and works in America, an he was part of the team that helped fix the problem that was plaguing the website. Basically it was a big joke that it wasn't ready on schedule and for the price they paid when a public company should have been able o get all that done in less than 10 million. The whole situation was a mess from the start and no one even knew if it worked when they put it up. Now we will see if Obamacare will work.