Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is resigning after five years in the position, following the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act.
President Obama accepted Sebelius’s resignation this week and is expected to nominate Sylvia Matthews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace her. White House officials stressed that Sebelius made the choice to announce her departure and was not forced out of the position.
“What was clear is that she thought that it was time to transition the leadership to somebody else,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told the New York Times. “She’s made clear in other comments publicly that she recognizes that she takes a lot of the incoming. She does hope — all of us hope — that we can get beyond the partisan sniping.”
Sebelius’s resignation was long anticipated by members of the insurance industry, who held her responsible for both the rocky rollout of HealthCare.gov and the many deadline delays that marred Obamacare’s first year.
“Sebelius should go stand in front of a mirror—she’s the first person to blame,” insurance agent Ryan Holloway told
Insurance Business at the height of health insurance anxiety in December. “After that, she can take a walk over the White House and visit her friend, the President—person to blame number two.”
IBA reader Jim Ezersky added in a story comment that the HHS secretary “swept literally all pending problems under the carpet” and went ahead with the opening of HealthCare.gov despite its lack of readiness for the open market.
The news of Sebelius’s departure came as something of a surprise to at least a few of her close coworkers. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, who has worked with Sebelius since 1991, said Sebelius “seemed like she was in it for the long haul” when the two had dinner last week.
The official White House announcement comes one day after senior authorities announced roughly 7.5 million Americans had now applied for health insurance through the state and federal exchanges.
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