Industry leaders react to Sebelius resignation, look to future

After five years at the helm of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced her resignation on April 10.

Her tenure was marred by the botched rollout of healthcare.gov, but later somewhat vindicated by the surge of enrollees in the health exchanges—which had reached 7.5 million the same day she stepped down. President Obama has nominated Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell to take her place.

Industry leaders were somewhat surprised to learn of Sebelius’ decision to leave the agency, but thanked her for her service during one of the most dynamic periods in healthcare.

“First and foremost, I’d say to her ‘thank you.’ She’s had to lead one of the most dramatic change cycles in our nation’s history with the Accountable Care Act, HITECH and trying to fix the SGR—the most difficult things during her tenure, if not the history of HHS,” College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) President and CEO Russell P. Branzell told Clinical Innovation + Technology. 

While Branzell said he does not know Burwell well, he said CHIME has had positive experiences working with OMB. “We look forward to getting to know her.”

Strong leadership at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid means that the future of health IT remains in good hands, he added.

John Halamka, MD, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, also thanked Sebelius. "I want to thank Kathleen for the challenging work she’s done that laid the foundation for the years of healthcare reform implementation ahead,” he told Clinical Innovation + Technology. “During her transition, I’ll stay focused on the road ahead. For me, every day is Meaningful Use, ICD-10, ACA and the HIPAA omnibus rule."

“Kathleen Sebelius has nothing to be ashamed of. She presided over the much-needed reform of our healthcare system,” echoed William Hersh, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, in comments to Clinical Innovation + Technology.

“She had to do this in a political environment so toxic, and so dedicated to the failure of her and her boss--the president--that thoughtful people, both liberal and conservative, could not tailor solutions suitable across the political spectrum,” he added.

HIMSS also took a moment to thank Sebelius for her efforts and service, and said they hope to forge a positive working relationship with Burwell.

“As a former governor and insurance commissioner in Kansas, Sebelius brought a focused professional approach to the high-profile job. In her five years as secretary, the health IT community was blessed to have her leading the department as they established the Meaningful Use and supporting programs that embodied the HITECH provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The work done on the Meaningful Use program has led to an incredible number of providers preparing for the start of healthcare transformation through the Affordable Care Act,” said HIMSS Vice President for Government Relations Tom Leary in a statement.

Leary said HIMSS is looking forward to working with Burwell to continue supporting the transformation of healthcare through IT.