US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigns in the wake of Obamacare woes
A crashing website and widespread confusion surrounding the introduction of Obamacare drive health secretary to resign
President Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is resigning, paying the price for the chaotic initial roll-out of his signature health care law, officials said on Thursday.
Obama will on Friday nominate his current budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who has a reputation as an accomplished manager, to replace Sebelius, the officials said.
The administration hopes that the departure of Sebelius will draw a symbolic line under the early implementation period of the law, which had a botched debut due to a malfunctioning sign-up website and other teething problems.
The administration was forced into an emergency effort to fix the site and succeeded to such an extent that 7.5 million people have now signed up for health insurance under the new law – a figure that defied expectations.
Obama and top aides spent last week declaring victory over sceptics who argued that the law – the most sweeping US social reform in decades – would never work or that Americans would refuse to sign up.
“The president wants to make sure we have a proven manager and relentless implementer in the job.”
But the stuttering debut of so-called Obamacare provided fresh ammunition to Republicans who are using the law’s unpopularity to blast vulnerable Democrats ahead of November’s mid-term elections.
