What is Daschle's healthcare experience?

[Honeycombe8]

He's been tapped as HHS secretary, and will be the one writing the new healthcare reform act. He will also be the new "Health Czar," through which all things related to healthcare flow, on their way to the White House.

So I'm wondering...what the heck is his background in this area? I read his biography, and I don't see any history there with this issue.

He's an able worker and politician, of course. But I would think that, given Obama's propensity to insist on "experience" for cabinet positions, that he would most certainly require experience with this, his signature issue.

What's up with this appointment? Does he have a healthcare background that doesn't show up in his biography?

[VeraAgnes]

1. Ahhhhh,

he wrote a book.

[Honeycombe8]

5. I looked that up. Well, it's SOMETHING. But he wrote it THIS YEAR, AFTER he decided he wanted to

He wrote it after he decided he wanted to be HHS Secretary?

That seems suspicious to me. And that's not experience, is it? I mean, lots of people have written books on healthcare in America. You gather some facts, throw in your opinions, and voila, you gotta book.

So the answer is he doesn't have any experience in the area of healthcare? No Senate healthcare or Medicare committee? He didn't run on this issue years ago? Nothing?

[MadBadger]

9. He was on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

Part of what they dealt with what Nutrition and Health

[Honeycombe8]

21. I saw that, but I considered that too tenuous to be a real connection with healthcare reform issue.

But he DID deal with SOME nutrition issues. I, too, have read numerous books on nutrition. Can I be HHS Director? Just kidding. But you see what I mean. Writing the whole act, and being the "go to" person in a subject area is pretty high level stuff. I would think someone in that position would have to have years of background in the area to really know what's what and get his head around the actual day to day operations of a new healthcare system.

[MadBadger]

25. No, I dont see what you mean. You are quick to dismiss just about anything

[Honeycombe8]

26. No, I'm not. There are people who have worked with this issue for years.

There are politicians who are intimately familiar with the day to day operations, the red tape, of the current healthcare system. There are politicians who have worked on this issue in committees, I would guess.

Being concerned about an issue is not the same thing as being intimately familiar with it, and working on it for years. As you well know.

People keep responding to my post with peripheral things that he wrote or said. That is not what my OP was asking. I specifically asked about experience directly with that issue.

There was, finally, ONE response that showed he made a speech or wrote an article back in 2005 about it. That is the first thing I've seen to indicate he at least had some knowledge about it, and was concerned about it before he decided he wanted to be HHS Director. I gave that poster credit for that, and I acknowledge that that IS something.

[babylonsister]

12. Statement from Distinguished Senior Fellow Tom Daschle on Healthcare Reform, Nov 2005

http://www.americanprogress.org/projects/healthprogress/daschle.html

Statement from Distinguished Senior Fellow Tom Daschle


Support for improving and expanding the nation’s health care system has been eroded by myths concerning the strengths of the status quo and weaknesses of alternatives.

Efforts to reform our health care system have been undercut by myths that hide the weaknesses of our current system and overstate the challenges of reform. One myth is that the United States has the best health care system in the world. There is no doubt that some Americans have access to the best care anywhere, but not all care is excellent. Thousands of people die from medical errors every year and the odds of surviving some kinds of cancer or getting vaccines are lower here than in many other nations. Furthermore, we are falling behind in basic health measures such as life expectancy and infant mortality. When considering factors such as access, funding, and quality of care, the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. health system as only the 37th in the world.

A second myth holds that we can’t afford to do any better. But consider that over 15 percent of our economy is spent annually on health care. Per person, we spend 50 percent more than Switzerland, the nation that ranks second in per capita spending. Americans pay for half of the drug industry’s profits worldwide. And despite spending the most, we leave 46 million Americans out – those who lack health coverage.

Health care is a complex topic, but myths should not cover up a simple truth: We are wasting money by paying top dollar for mediocre results. I believe we need a new approach to health reform – an approach that results in major reform, not incremental change. We need to create new coalitions to push for reform and find new answers that work for everyone. We need to move beyond ideology and partisanship and meet our common health care system challenges with commonsense answers to provide affordable, quality health care to everyone in this great nation. This is not a weak alternative; it is the only one.

Senator Tom Daschle is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Also see:
Paying More but Getting Less (PDF)
Myths and the Global Case for U.S. Health Reform
by Sen. Tom Daschle, November 2005

Updated: February 9, 2006

[Honeycombe8]

22. Ah. Well, here is something. That is finally something to indicate that he has

been concerned about this issue, if not involved with it, for several years.

That IS something. That's what I was asking. Thanks.

[HereSince1628]

11. Actually, he was one of three authors on a book...

Of the co-authors the true credential in health-system policy expertise belongs to Jeanne Lambrew
(for her basic bio see http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/faculty/jeanne-lambrew/). Her experience is decades long.

I'm skeptical about the depth of Daschle's expertise in health-care policy, but until I get the book in my hands and then compare it to Lambrew's other writings I won't really be in a position to judge Daschle's contribution.

Daschle joined a policy-advising firm after he left the senate, and I have no doubt he has significant experience watching how policy moves through the legislative process (regardless of how ineffective he may have seemed as leader).

[Honeycombe8]

24. He joined a policy advising firm? Didn't he join his wife's lobbying firm? nt

[HereSince1628]

27. Ssshhh! Lobbyist is no longer a descriptor for people inside the camp...

Daschle was a Senior Policy Advisor with the K Street law firm Alston & Bird.

[Honeycombe8]

29. Oh, I see. Shhhhhh. (asking in small caps if the firm represented any co. connected to healthcare)

[HereSince1628]

30. Check this site...

http://www.becoming44.org/content/alston-bird-health-care-lobbying-clients

[babylonsister]

2. Here's some opinions about Daschle I just found that might interest

you:

http://www.politico.com/arena/

I think he'll be very capable of herding all the cats that need to be herded in this position. Also, he co-authored a book on healthcare you can read about here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7895352#7895414

[MadBadger]

3. Im guessing this wont matter to the OP

[Honeycombe8]

7. You are correct that the above response didn't answer the question. nt

[babylonsister]

15. You called that. nt

[Honeycombe8]

6. Well, my question was...does he have any experience in this area. So the answer is he doesn't? nt

[mmonk]

8. Is there a requirement of such?

[babylonsister]

10. You are quite capable of researching this, I'm thinking.

If you mean does he have a medical background, no, but why should that be a requirement? Does PE Obama think he has the chops to get this department organized and get healthcare passed, I'd say yes. So, what's your beef?

Oh, and you're welcome.

[mmonk]

4. I think he could be an effective director without having conflict of interest.

[phleshdef]

13. Wrote a book, served on the board of the Mayo Clinic, a wealth of related legislative experience...

The guy has been a fighter for the cause of getting everyone access to healthcare for years and has dedicated a LOT of time gathering knowledge about the topic.

That should be good enough for anyone. Daschle was an excellent pick.

[Jennicut]

14. Agreed. He was a good pick.

[MadBadger]

16. People are giving you his experience. RESPOND

[olegramps]

17. He is being placed in the position as a manager.

He is not being chosen because of his medical knowledge, but as a manager to produce a plan. As a manager he will obtain expertise from a vast array of professionals to develop the appropriate plan.

[HereSince1628]

28. Yes, he's going to be part of an intiative for new legislation in health care

This may be an emerging pattern in the selection of the cabinet--in areas where there are going to be legislative initiatives the Dept. Sec. is going to be a person with political experience.

If that is true it should also give us an idea about where the actions are going to be. It'll be possible to test that with time.

[WeDidIt]

18. Healthcare is not the experience needed here

Shepherding legislation through the Congress is teh necessary experience. Daschle will surround himself with healthcare professionals for teh design of the legislation.

[Evergreen Emerald]

19. His spouse is a lobbyist....won't that cause conflicts of interest?

[MadBadger]

20. Kick till you respond

[Kurska]

23. He is a political brawler

He can force through legislation, health care legislation. I'm glad to see obama is taking the political challenges he is going to face seriously.The republicans would be more then happy to sit on their arse and let the country go down in flames just so they can have their angry white person revolt in 2010 and get back seats.

We can't let them do that, we need fighters and arm twisters.

[dascientist]

31. survival of anthrax attack?