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Former HHS Head Says Delay In Becerra Confirmation Also Blocks Lower Appointments

Hold-up in US Senate approval of Becerra causing hardships at CMS, CDC, former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says

 
• By Sue Darcey

The former Obama HHS Secretary says not having health leadership in place is exacerbating the COVID-19 crisis and even increasing deaths.

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Confirmation of an HHS Secretary to oversee resolution of the COVID-19 crisis is paramount, former HHS chief says

Senate Republicans seem to be slow-walking the nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services over concerns his politics lean too far to the left. But at the height of a pandemic, not having a confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary already confirmed also means no one can take the reins at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or other COVID-19 prevention agencies, said former HHS leader Kathleen Sebelius.

“Clearly, we are in the midst of a distorting pandemic, which not only causes a huge health crisis, but also an economic crisis,” Sebelius said during an Accountable.US webinar on 12 February. Accountable

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