PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS ON NOMINATING SYLVIA BURWELL FOR SECRETARY OF HHS

FROM:   THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by the President Nominating Sylvia Mathews Burwell as Secretary of Health and Human Services

Rose Garden

10:54 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hey!  (Applause.)  All right, everybody, have a seat.  Have a seat.  Have a seat.  Well, good morning.  In my sixth year in office, I am extraordinarily grateful to have so many aides and advisors who have been there since the earliest days.  But it’s still somewhat bittersweet when any of them leave for new endeavors -- even when their successor is wonderful.

In early March, Kathleen Sebelius, my Secretary of Health and Human Services, told me she’d be moving on once the first open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act came to an end.  And after five years of extraordinary service to our country -- and 7.5 million Americans who have signed up for health coverage through the exchanges -- (applause) -- she’s earned that right.  I will miss her advice, I will miss her friendship, I will miss her wit -- but I am proud to nominate someone to succeed her who holds those same traits in abundance:  Sylvia Mathews Burwell.  (Applause.)

Now, just a couple things about Kathleen.  When I nominated Kathleen more than five years ago -- I had gotten to know Kathleen when she was governor at Kansas and had shown extraordinary skills there; was a great advisor and supporter during my presidential campaign, and so I knew that she was up for what was a tough job -- I mentioned that one of her many responsibilities at HHS would be to make sure our country is prepared for a pandemic flu outbreak.  I didn’t know at the time that that would literally be her first task.  (Laughter.)  Nobody remembers that now -- but it was.  And it just gives you a sense of the sorts of daily challenges that Kathleen has handled, often without fanfare, often unacknowledged, but that have been critical to the health and welfare of the American people. 

She has fought to improve children’s health, from birth to kindergarten; expanded mental health care; reduced racial and ethnic disparities; brought us closer to the first AIDS-free generation.  She’s been a tireless advocate for women’s health.   

And, of course, what Kathleen will go down in history for is serving as the Secretary of Health and Human Services when the United States of America finally declared that quality, affordable health care is not a privilege, but it is a right for every single citizen of these United States of America.  (Applause.)

Kathleen has been here through the long fight to pass the Affordable Care Act.  She helped guide its implementation, even when it got rough.  She’s got bumps, I’ve got bumps, bruises -- but we did it because we knew of all the people that we had met, all across the country, who had lost a home, had put off care, had decided to stay with the job instead of start a business because they were uncertain about their health care situation.  We had met families who had seen their children suffer because of the uncertainty of health care.  And we were committed to get this done.  And that’s what we’ve done, and that’s what Kathleen has done.

Yes, we lost the first quarter of open enrollment period with the problems with HealthCare.gov -- and they were problems.  But under Kathleen’s leadership, her team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done, and the final score speaks for itself:  There are 7.5 million people across the country that have the security of health insurance, most of them for the very first time.  And that's because of the woman standing next to me here today.  (Applause.)  And we are proud of her for that.  That's an historic accomplishment.  (Applause.)  That's right.

And, by the way, in the meantime, alongside 7.5 million people being enrolled, health care costs under Kathleen’s leadership are growing at their slowest rate in 50 years.  I keep on reading folks saying, oh, they're not doing anything about cost, except they're growing at the slowest rate in 50 years.  What does that mean?  That's in part because of Kathleen’s extraordinary leadership.

Health records are moving from dog-eared paper to high-tech systems.  Kathleen partnered with the Department of Justice to aggressively pursue health care fraud and return billions of dollars -- record sums -- to the Medicare Trust Fund. 

So, all told, Kathleen’s work over the past five years will benefit our families and this country for decades to come.  So we want to thank Kathleen’s husband, Gary, the “First Dude” of Kansas.  (Laughter.)  We got two outstanding sons, Ned and John, who have been willing to share their mom with us these past five years.  And, Kathleen, I know that your dad -- who served as governor of Ohio, and who inspired you to pursue public service and who passed away last year -- would have been so proud of you today.  So, Kathleen, we want to thank you once again for your service to our country.  (Applause.)

Now, we know there’s still more work to do at HHS.  There’s more work to do to implement the Affordable Care Act.  There’s another enrollment period coming up about six months from now.  There’s a whole array of responsibilities to meet over at this large and very important agency.  And I could choose no manager as experienced, as competent as my current Director of the Office of Management and Budget:  Sylvia Mathews Burwell.  (Applause.)

Sylvia is from a small town -- Hinton, West Virginia.  So she brings the common sense that you see in small towns.  She brings the values of caring about your neighbor and ordinary folks to some of the biggest and most complex challenges of her time.  She’s a proven manager who’s demonstrated her ability to field great teams, forge strong relationships, and deliver excellent results at the highest levels.  And she’s done it both in the public and private sectors.

As COO and later president for global development of the Gates Foundation, Sylvia worked on the cutting edge of the world’s most pressing health challenges.  As the head of the Walmart Foundation, and a member of the board at MetLife, she gained firsthand experience into how insurance markets work, and how they can work better for businesses and families alike.

Here, as my Budget Director at the White House, she’s already delivered results.  After all, in the year since she arrived, the deficit has plunged by more than $400 billion.  I’m just saying.  (Laughter.)  That's happened during that time.  (Applause.)

When the government was forced to shut down last October, and even as most of her own team was barred from reporting to work, Sylvia was a rock -- a steady hand on the wheel who helped navigate the country through a very challenging time.  Once the government was allowed to reopen, Sylvia was vital to winning the two-year budget agreement that put an end to these manufactured crises that we had seen here in Washington so that we could keep our full focus on growing the economy and creating new jobs, and expanding opportunity for everybody who is seeking opportunity.  And all the while, she’s helped advance important initiatives to bring the government into the 21st century, including her efforts to speed up job creation by dramatically speeding up the permitting process for big infrastructure projects.

So Sylvia is a proven manager, and she knows how to deliver results.  And she’ll need to be a proven manager because these are tough tasks, big challenges.  From covering more families with economic security that health insurance provides, to ensuring the safety of our food and drug supply, to protecting the country from outbreak or bioterror attacks, to keeping America at the forefront of job-creating medical research, all of us rely on the dedicated servants and scientists, the researchers at HHS and the FDA and CDC and NIH.  All of them are an extraordinary team, and sometimes the American people take for granted the incredible network of outstanding public servants that we have who are helping to keep us healthy and helping improve our lives every single day.

So I want to thank Stephen, Sylvia’s husband, and Mathew and Helene for sharing wife and mom with us a little bit longer.  We’ll miss seeing you around the White House, but I know that you’re going to do an outstanding job as America’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.  I hope that the Senate confirms Sylvia without delay.  She’s going to do great.  Last time she was confirmed unanimously -- I’m assuming not that much has changed since that time.  (Laughter.) 

And with that, I want to give them both an opportunity to say a few words, starting with Kathleen.  (Applause.) 

SECRETARY SEBELIUS:  Thank you.  Well, I want to start by thanking you, Mr. President, and Mr. Vice President, for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to serve in this Cabinet.  I want to thank my HHS family, many of whom are here -- at least the health leaders are here -- for their incredible work.  And my personal family, represented today by our older son Ned, and my wonderful daughter-in-law Lisa; my husband Gary is on the Bench in Kansas today doing multiple hearings, which he does each and every day, and our younger son is in Ecuador.  But they’re with us in spirit.

The President has already made this case, but I want to remake it.  HHS is an amazing department.  It’s full of bright and talented and hardworking people who believe strongly in our important mission:  providing health care and essential human services to all Americans.

Now, inscribed on the walls of the Humphrey Building, where your office will be, are the words of the namesake.  And what Hubert Humphrey said is, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadow of life.”  And that really, I think, describes what we do at HHS. 

From our work on birth-to-kindergarten initiatives to providing for the elderly and disabled, our employees help their friends and neighbors every day.  The researchers in NIH labs and scientists working to improve new drugs and devices are helping change the face of humanity by advancing new cures, research and innovation.  We’re advancing public health in the U.S. and around the globe with anti-smoking efforts and promoting maternal and child health. 

Finally, behavioral health and physical health issues will be considered both part of a central treatment, and that’s a big step forward.  Our workers, as the President said, look out for a safe and secure food and drug supply in a global market.  And our smart diplomacy, sharing health expertise and advances, win the hearts and minds of nations across the globe.  We have done transformational work in tribal communities across this country that will never be the same again.

So at any point in our history, that mission would be highly rewarding and some of the most important work anybody could do.  But I’ve had an additional amazing opportunity -- no one has ever had this before -- I got to be a leader of HHS during these most historic times.  We are on the front lines of a long overdue national change -- fixing a broken health system.  Now, this is the most meaningful work I’ve ever been a part of.  In fact, it’s been the cause of my life.  And I knew it wouldn’t be easy.  There’s a reason that no earlier President was successful in passing health reform, despite decades of attempts. 

But throughout the legislative battles, the Supreme Court challenge, a contentious reelection and years of votes to turn back the clock, we are making progress, tremendous progress.  And critics and supporters alike are benefitting from this law.  My professional work as a legislator and insurance commissioner and a governor have been tremendously helpful in navigating the policy and politics of this historic change. 

But at the end of the day, health is personal.  It’s personal to all of us.  Family illnesses and personal health challenges touch us to our core.  I’ve spent time as a daughter navigating care for ill parents.  As a mother and now a grandmother, I have experienced and worried about prenatal care and healthy babies.  We’ve had family health challenges, as all of us have.  And finding the right care can be difficult even with the best contacts and the right resources.

So the personal reward for me at the end of the day are the folks who approach me, the strangers who approach me at a meeting or pass me a note on a plane, or hand me a phone with someone on the other end saying thank you.  Their stories are so heartening about finally feeling secure and knowing they can take care of themselves and their families. 

Unfortunately, a page is missing.  (Laughter.) 

So I’m just grateful for having had this wonderful opportunity.  The President was in Austin yesterday at the LBJ Library, commemorating 50 years in the civil rights efforts led by Lyndon Johnson.  And 50 years ago, my father was part of that historic Congress.  He served in the Congress with the passage of Medicare and Medicaid, with Head Start.  And those programs are now in the agency I’ve had the honor to lead.  It seems like a wonderful passing of the baton.   

And the Affordable Care Act is the most significant social change in this country in that 50-year period of time.  So I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.  I appreciate all of the effort and support.  I thank my Cabinet colleagues who are here on the front row.  And not only are they here today on the front row, but they’ve been part of an all-hands-on-deck effort making sure that that 7.5 million people were able to sign up for affordable health care. 

So thank you, Mr. President.  And what I know is that Sylvia -- in the year I’ve had the opportunity to work with her -- is a trusted and valued friend, a great partner.  She will be a terrific leader for HHS.  So I’ll turn it over to Sylvia.  (Applause.)

MS. BURWELL:  First, I’d like to thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, for the trust you’ve placed in me at my role at OMB and your confidence in nominating me for this new role.

Second, as we all honor Kathleen’s accomplishments here today, I also want to personally thank her for her support and friendship through this year.  I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the team at the Office of Management and Budget and to our congressional counterparts, with whom I’ve had the privilege to work closely throughout this year.

OMB is an extraordinary institution.  It’s a credit to the professionalism and commitment of OMB’s people that we’ve been able to meaningfully improve our nation’s fiscal policy and government management over the past year.  I also want to thank my family, especially my husband, Stephen.  It’s their support that allows me to serve.

I’m humbled, honored, and excited by the opportunity to build on the achievements that Kathleen, the President, and so many others have put in place.  If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to carrying on the important work of ensuring that children, families, and seniors have the building blocks of healthy and productive lives, whether it’s through implementing the Affordable Care Act, supporting affordable childcare, or finding new frontiers to prevent and treat disease.

Thank you, Mr. President.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Give these extraordinary women one more big round of applause.  Thank you, Kathleen, for your service.  Thank you, Sylvia, for your great work.  (Applause.)

END
11:16 A.M. EDT

HHS SECRETARY SEBELIUS ON THE ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING

FROM: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
April 16, 2012
A Statement from Secretary Sebelius on the Administration for Community Living

All Americans – including people with disabilities and seniors – should be able to live at home with the supports they need, participating in communities that value their contributions – rather than in nursing homes or other institutions.

The Obama administration and my department have long been committed to promoting community living and finding new mechanisms to help ensure that the supports people with disabilities and seniors need to live in the community are accessible. 

Today, with the creation of the new Administration for Community Living (ACL), we are reinforcing this commitment by bringing together key HHS organizations and offices dedicated to improving the lives of those with functional needs into one coordinated, focused and stronger entity.

The Administration for Community Living will bring together the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities into a single agency that supports both cross-cutting initiatives and efforts focused on the unique needs of individual groups, such as children with developmental disabilities or seniors with dementia. This new agency will work on increasing access to community supports and achieving full community participation for people with disabilities and seniors. 

The Administration on Community Living will seek to enhance and improve the broad range of supports that individuals may need to live with respect and dignity as full members of their communities. These support needs go well beyond health care and include the availability of appropriate housing, employment, education, meaningful relationships and social participation.

Building on President Obama’s Year of Community Living, the ACL will pursue improved opportunities for older Americans and people with disabilities to enjoy the fullest inclusion in the life of our nation.

PAHO SPEECH BY HHS SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PAHO Healthy Aging Conference
April 12, 2012
Washington, DC
Good morning and welcome.
For more than a century, the Pan American Health Organization has been a driving force behind many of our region’s greatest public health achievements, from reversing the spread of infectious diseases to improving nutrition, sanitation and access to clean water. And thanks to this kind of progress people are living longer and generally healthier lives than ever before.

In 1980, there were 378 million people in the world aged 60 or older. Three decades later, that figure has doubled. By 2050, it is projected to reach 2 billion -- with older people at about 22% of the global population, outnumbering children under 14 for the first time in human history. And these gains have not been limited to industrialized countries. The most rapid and dramatic demographic changes in the Americas are happening in low- and middle-income countries.
These trends represent a triumph of global public health, modern medicine and economic development.  And yet they also pose new challenges.

As people live longer, the shape of our families is changing. Adult children are caring for their aging parents, while raising their own families. Many of us work well past the “traditional” retirement age, by need or by choice, stretching our care giving capacities even further. And these shifts have begun to put new pressure on our countries’ health care systems and social safety programs, pushing policy-makers to find new ways to make limited resources go further.

We also know that as we live longer we’re more likely to develop multiple chronic non-communicable diseases. In the past more people died at younger ages from infectious diseases, accidents, and violence. Today, more and more of the world’s population are living long enough to face cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Each year, chronic diseases kill 36 million people worldwide. That’s more than 3 out of every 5 deaths, robbing families and communities of loved ones and costing our economies billions.  Many of these diseases like diabetes, stroke, and respiratory disease are projected to affect even more people in the years and decades to come.
 
For years, our region has helped shape the international conversation about non-communicable diseases -- from the 2007 Declaration of Port-of-Spain -- to the resolution tabled by Trinidad and Tobago on behalf of the Caribbean Community that ultimately led to last year’s UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting.

Now the rest of the world is joining the conversation. And that’s critical because we still have a long way to go if we want to turn the tide on chronic disease. These threats recognize no national or political borders. They touch countries in every corner of the globe and at every stage in development.

So our challenge today is to prepare and respond. The good news is that we know what it takes to build communities where older citizens are not seen as a burden, but as experienced and engaged partners. And the work we do to support healthy aging also presents us with an opportunity to reshape our communities to promote better health at every age.

In the United States, we have embarked on an ambitious agenda to shift the focus of our health care system from waiting for people to become acutely ill to investing in prevention to keep them healthy in the first place.

In 2010, we passed a historic health reform law that improves access to the preventive care people need to stay healthy and the screenings they need to detect diseases early. And we’ve taken big steps to help seniors afford the cost of their medications.

We’re also working with doctors and hospitals to share their best methods for improving their patients' health.  Sometimes seemingly small things, like following up with a patient after she's been discharged from the hospital and helping all of her doctors better communicate with one another, make the biggest difference. And we're helping best practices like these spread to every corner of the country, so that everyone has access to the best care possible, no matter where they live.

But we also recognize that ensuring access to quality, affordable care is only one part of the job. Health also happens outside the doctor’s office – in neighborhoods, workplaces and community centers.

Just as important are the steps we can take to engage older people as we do this critical work: involving them in the design, execution, and leadership of programs for seniors -- and refuting any notion that as people age they have less to contribute or become helpless. Our growing population of older people is also increasingly diverse. Respecting this diversity is key to maintaining social connections, reducing isolation, and increasing people’s choices.

Ultimately, what drives our approach is a philosophy that says simply: “Nothing about them without them.”

And you can see it in successful initiatives like Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program -- built on more than two decades of federal research. The program recognizes that older people with chronic diseases should be more than just recipients of care. They should be key decision-makers in their own treatment.

So through workshops in community settings like senior centers, libraries, and at faith-based organizations, older people with a wide array of conditions come together to learn, share and build the skills they need to manage and improve their own health – from exercise and nutrition, to stress management and communicating with their health providers. At HHS, we’ve invested $27 million in grants to help communities implement these proven approaches.

The evidence shows that this program not only improves patients’ abilities to manage their own health, it has also improved health outcomes and even reduced health care costs. It is no wonder that the Stanford program is now available in at least 15 countries around globe.

What this kind of program tells us is that keeping older people healthy yields enormous dividends. When more people can participate more fully and contribute to society, everyone benefits.

And this is where we have an important opportunity to work together to share our best ideas and tools to keep our populations as healthy, productive and engaged as possible.
The United States is committed to learning from our partners across the region and around the globe. The more we work together, the faster we will be able to test new strategies, learn what works, and implement them in our own communities.

One of the striking aspects of my trips outside our country is how much eagerness there is to work together on health issues. When it comes to trade or foreign policy, there are often areas of strong disagreement. But when the discussion turns to tackling our biggest health challenges, there is a broad consensus that nations must work together. And when we do work together, we all benefit.

Healthy aging is an issue which aligns the interests of the countries around the world.   A healthier world is one in which every nation will have more productive workers, longer lives, and more vibrant communities.

Too often when we talk about global aging, we talk about its costs. But by keeping our seniors healthy and engaged we have begun to write a new story, where every older person gets the dignity and independence they deserve and every nation thrives.

APRIL 7, 2012 IS WORLD HEALTH DAY

April 6, 2012

Statement from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on World Health Day, April 7, 2012

This year’s World Health Day theme, “Good health adds life to years”, highlights the need to ensure that people are living well as they live longer. The world’s population is aging at an unprecedented rate. Within the next five years, the number of people over 65 years will outnumber children under age five for the first time in human history. By 2050, there will be more adults over 65 years than children under age 14. Societies that support the active participation of their older populations and promote their health and well-being will be better prepared to adapt to this changing world.

Global aging is a tremendous success story. Today, people are living decades longer and lead generally healthier lives than ever before because of the triumph of public health, medical advancement, and economic development over disease and injury. These gains aren’t only being seen in industrialized countries. The most rapid and dramatic demographic changes are happening in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Asia, where over half of the world’s older population lives. Not only will developing countries have less time to prepare for aging populations, they will also need to address age-related challenges at lower levels of economic development than industrialized countries.

The right to the best possible health does not diminish as we age. With a longer life comes the increased likelihood of disabilities, chronic illnesses or cognitive impairments like Alzheimer’s disease, which may mean growing needs for long-term care and nursing support.

That’s why our department is working to make sure Americans and people around the world get the care they need to stay healthy as they age. The Affordable Care Act is making prevention benefits available and prescriptions more affordable for seniors and people with disabilities and will soon ensure that people, of all ages, with pre-existing conditions get coverage. The Administration on Aging helps communities, caregivers, and health care providers prepare for an aging society and works internationally to promote the dignity and independence of older people. The National Institute on Aging conducts research to discover what may contribute to healthy aging while addressing the disease and disability sometimes associated with growing older.

Meeting the changing needs of our population involves all sectors of society – that’s why the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation are all part of the network of age-friendly communities recently launched by AARP, in affiliation with the World Health Organization. We can build healthy, vibrant communities by working across generations to promote aging in place, and engaging the skills and experience of our older populations.

At HHS, we are pleased to join the World Health Organization and people around the world in answering World Health Day's call to action, and to work closely with the international community to improve health and well-being for older populations at home and abroad.

DHHS SAYS NO MORE LIFETIME CAPS ON HEALTH BENEFITS

The following excerpt is from the Department of Health and Human Services:

“Health reform law ends lifetime limits for 105 million Americans
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report today on how the health reform law has eliminated lifetime limits on coverage for more than 105 million Americans. Before health reform, many Americans with serious illnesses such as cancer risked hitting the lifetime limit on the dollar amount their insurance companies would cover for their health care benefits.

“For years, Americans with lifetime caps imposed on their health insurance benefits have had to live with the fear that if an illness or accident happened, they could max out their health coverage when they needed it the most,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “Now, because of the health care law, they no longer have to live in fear of that happening.”

The end of lifetime limits is one of many new consumer rights and protections in the law for Americans nationwide.  In the report, HHS provides data on the number of people in each state that benefit from this component of the law.  The Obama administration also released updated state data on other ways the new law has impacted Americans, including the number of people with Medicare receiving new preventive benefits and the various grants awarded to states.

While some plans provided coverage without dollar limits on lifetime benefits, 105 million Americans were previously in health plans that had lifetime limits.  HHS estimates that 70 million people in large employer plans, 25 million people in small employer plans, and 10 million people with individually purchased health insurance had lifetime limits on their health benefits prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
This includes 39.5 million women and 28 million children; 11.8 million Latinos and 10.4 million African Americans.”