Additional Obama Appointments
Nancy-Ann DeParle - Director, White House Office for Health Reform
Former Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget, Clinton administration
Former Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration (now Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services), Clinton administration
Former Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Human Services
Managing Director, CCMP Capital
Member, Board of Directors, Boston Scientific Corporation
Member, Board of Directors, Cerner Corporation
Member, Board of Directors, Medco Health Solutions
Obama’s comments:
“Mr. Obama said Ms. DeParle would provide (Secretary of Health and Human Resources Kathleen) Sebelius with ‘an excellent partner at the White House.’”
—The New York Times
Others’ comments:
“Since leaving the Clinton administration, (Nancy-Ann) DeParle has been managing director of a private equity firm, CCMP Capital, and a board member of companies like Boston Scientific, Cerner and Medco Health Solutions. White House officials said Ms. DeParle was severing ties with those companies and would recuse herself from participating in any matter that was ‘directly or substantially’ related to former clients or employers.
“‘It is our view, and the view of counsel here, that the incidence of that will be very low,’ an administration official said of the need for Ms. DeParle to recuse herself from decisions. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Ms. DeParle would be working mostly with federal agencies and lawmakers, and not directly with companies.
“Allies of Ms. DeParle described her work in the private sector as a plus, because her familiarity with the industry would enable her to lean on companies to make tradeoffs essential in expanding access to the uninsured.
“‘She can call their bluff far more credibly and say, “Come on, guys, I’ve seen the books, I know you can do this with lower margins and higher market share, and you’ll do quite well,”’ said Chris Jennings, who was President Bill Clinton’s top health policy adviser. ‘To me that’s very, very helpful.’
“The appointment drew praise from some Republicans, including Bill Thomas and Jim McCrery, both former House members who worked closely with Ms. DeParle on health care. Mr. McCrery described her as ‘very knowledgeable, and very reasonable.’”
—The New York Times
“(Nancy-Ann DeParle) sits on the boards of at least three health care companies likely to be affected by Obama’s health care plans, setting up possible conflicts with the administration’s strict ethics policy.
“DeParle, a veteran of the Clinton administration, sits on the boards of Cerner, Medco Health Solutions and Boston Scientific—medical technology companies with a keen interest in Obama’s healthcare reforms.
“DeParle will be required to step down from all corporate boards, as well as from her post as managing director of CCMP Capital, a New York private equity firm, to serve as director of the new White House Office for Health Reform.
“An administration official, who did not want to be identified discussing personnel issues, said DeParle’s situation would not require a waiver to the ethics executive order Obama signed on his first full day in office, which bars executive branch officials from working on issues ‘directly and substantially related’ to their former clients or employers for two years.
“DeParle ‘would recuse from any particular matter’ that would directly impact in a significant way any of the companies for which she was a director, the official said.
“Cerner has already been buoyed by the administration’s proposed healthcare initiatives. The company, for which DeParle has served as a director since 2001, is a leading developer of electronic medical record systems. It saw its share price rise nearly 10 percent in the past three months as Obama touted his plan to computerize health care records. The $787 billion stimulus package Obama signed into law included $19 billion for modernizing health care records, which he predicts will save money by reducing medical errors and duplicative testing. DeParle likely will be involved in implementing the initiative, a key part of Obama’s reform efforts.
“Medco administers prescription drug claims for pharmacies—an industry that also would seem likely to be impacted by Obama’s plans to make health care records electronic.
“Boston Scientific develops and manufactures medical devices used in cardiology, urology/gynecology and pain management.”
—Politico
Sworn In: April 28, 2009
Appointment Impact:
“(Health and Human Resources Secretary Kathleen) Sebelius and DeParle will be charged with helping to craft and sell the administration’s ambitious effort to revamp the nation’s health care system to both extend access and rein in runaway costs. In his remarks, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to push ahead on the initiative, despite objections from some Republicans and others who say that it will be too costly, especially given the nation’s other fiscal problems.”
—The Washington Post
“Ms. DeParle will ‘head health care reform here in the White House,” (Press Secretary Robert) Gibbs said, but he emphasized that ‘a lot of people who work in this building and in different agencies will be involved.”
“This isn’t something that’s just going to lie with one or two people,’ Mr. Gibbs said, adding that that ‘the entire economic team’ would be involved.’”
—The New York Times
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