Kansas lawmakers to examine increase in payments to group with ties to HHS Secretary-Designee Sebelius

Kansas lawmakers on Wednesday announced that they plan to hold hearings to examine a decision made by the administration of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), whom President Obama has nominated as HHS secretary, to increase state payments to a social services group whose board of directors included members with close ties to the governor, the AP/Kansas City Star reports.

In fall 2008, Don Jordan, secretary of the state Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, approved a request to increase payments to Community Living Opportunities, a not-for-profit group that provides services to residents with developmental disabilities, by $713,000. At the time, the board of the group included Larry Gates, a friend of Sebelius who has served as chair of the Kansas Democratic Party for six years; Dan Biles, an attorney whom Sebelius recently appointed to the state Supreme Court; and Lew Perkins, the athletic director of the University of Kansas. State documents obtained by InterHab, which represents other groups that provide similar services, found that Community Living had requested the increase in payments since September 2007.

According to Jordan, he decided to approve the request based on a review by SRS staff that confirmed the need for the increase in payments. He has asked the Kansas Health Policy Authority to hire an outside expert to review the decision. Tom Laing, executive director of Interhab, has called the decision to approve the request "extraordinary and highly improper" because regional organizations under contract with the state make such decisions in most cases. State lawmakers indicated the possibility of a legislative audit of the decision.

Sebelius has defended the decision as appropriate (Hanna, AP/Kansas City Star, 2/4).

'Bold Move' as Kansas Insurance Commissioner Examined

Newsweek on Tuesday examined the decision by Sebelius in 2002 to block a "controversial and widely publicized" proposed sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas to Anthem during her tenure as state insurance commissioner. According to Newsweek, although the "bold move ... didn't make her any friends with either insurance provider," the decision prompted support from hospitals and physicians and appeared to "turn out well" for policyholders, who "weren't hit with higher premiums or lower-quality care." Her "tenacity in Kansas seems to show she has what it takes to go up against The Man and win" as HHS secretary, but "on the federal playing field, The Man is usually bigger, better funded and has a lot more friends," Newsweek reports (Stone, Newsweek, 3/3).

Concerns About Policy Czars

In related news, the Los Angeles Times on Thursday examined how the decision by Obama to appoint a number of policy czars to address health care and other issues has raised concerns among some lawmakers and interest groups that he might "be subverting the authority of Congress and concentrating too much power in the presidency." According to the Times, "It's far too early to tell whether Obama's quest for efficiency will lead to overstepping the bounds of presidential authority," but the recent nomination of Sebelius as HHS secretary and appointment of Nancy-Ann DeParle as director of the White House Office for Health Reform "could offer a few clues." Senators during confirmation will have the ability to question Sebelius on her "views on health policy and demand detailed documentation of her credentials," but DeParle "can begin work right away, without outside review of her abilities or opinions," the Times reports (Hamburger/Parsons, Los Angeles Times, 3/5).