3 priorities of Burwell’s WalMart past that could inform her HHS future

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Obama’s pick to replace Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sailed through her Senate confirmation with a vote of 78 to 17 in favor of confirming her nomination.

On Capitol Hill, she is mainly known for her work as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, where she impressed legislators with her efforts at transparency. However, immediately before that, she was president of the Walmart Foundation, the charitable arm of one of the nation’s largest retailers and its largest single employer.

Sebelius’s past as an insurance commissioner was often brought up as a reason the insurance industry was able to so successfully influence HHS policy. What might be expected from Burwell’s history with Walmart?

1. A focus on the poor. Walmart leveraged its size to achieve steep price discounts and demonstrated that there is a lot of money to be made serving the most price conscious of consumers, those who are low income. Much of the Walmart Foundation’s work is focused on helping the poor. This could make Burwell the perfect person to explain to business leaders how some of the provisions in the Affordable Care Act that help the poor may help them too. Indeed, Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., indicated as much back in April when he released the following statement in support of Burwell’s nomination: “Sylvia has a strong record of working collaboratively with businesses and government on some of the most pressing issues facing Americans,” he stated. “She understands the needs of people and communities and has consistently delivered strong results that have a positive impact on society. It's crucial to have a leader like Sylvia in this role, and we stand ready to work with the Administration on solutions that provide more Americans with even greater access to affordable healthcare.”

1. An interest in healthy lifestyle initiatives and wellness. The Walmart Foundation lists promoting nutrition and healthy eating habits as a top priority. While Burwell was its president in 2012, it announced it would hand out $9.5 million in grants to give thousands of Americans access to nutrition education classes, cooking demonstrations and nutritional recipes.
2. An insider’s view of how corporations and public health efforts work together. As much money as the Walmart Foundation hands out to help the poor, it also gains from government benefits that help its low-income store employees obtain health insurance, as well as the food stamp and other benefit programs many of its customers rely on in order to be able to shop at its stores.