Sebelius's political experience wins plaudits

Washington: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has never lost an election, even as a Democrat in a Republican-dominated state, something analysts attribute to her cool competence, lifelong education in politics and a knack for reaching across the political divide.

But even with that record, Sebelius has been mostly frustrated in her attempts to expand health-care coverage in Kansas. Yesterday, President Obama was scheduled to formally introduce her at a White House ceremony as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, putting Sebelius in the midst of the growing debate over revamping the nation's health-care system.

"She has a clear, substantive grasp of the issue," said Kenneth Thorpe, a professor of health policy at Emory University who was an adviser to President Bill Clinton. "She also understands the politics. She has been trying to do health-care reform in a very difficult political environment."

As governor, Sebelius has tried twice to raise Kansas' cigarette tax to expand medical coverage. Both times she was thwarted by Republican legislators, who objected to the tax increases and wanted a more market-based solution.

"She is a Democratic governor from a Republican state. She had to be pretty competent to survive that. But health care was a disappointing exercise," said Edmund Haislmaier, a senior research fellow in health policy studies at the Heritage Foundation who has worked with legislative leaders who opposed Sebelius in Kansas. "This is kind of an outline of what you are going to see play out nationally. People on both sides want the same goal, but they go at it differently," Haislmaier said.

Still, Sebelius has enjoyed some victories on the issue. She was successful in having Kansas join a multistate consortium that allowed Kansans to order prescription drugs from Canada, Britain and Ireland, often at a lower price than in the United States. She also has added tens of thousands of children from low-income households to state health programmes. And as Kansas' elected insurance commissioner, Sebelius achieved national recognition when she blocked the sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, which she was convinced would raise premiums.

Many Democrats applauded her nomination, saying her experience could prove invaluable.

"I'm particularly pleased to hear of her selection because she brings such solid experience to the position," said Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who has set a goal of swiftly overhauling health care.

"Passing comprehensive health-care reform is an absolute imperative this year, and as a former insurance commissioner, Governor Sebelius really gets what needs to be done," Baucus said.