The following article by Shilpa Phadke and Theresa Chalhoub was posted on the Center for American Progress website November 28, 2017:
The nomination of Alex Azar to become the next U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) will refocus attention on how best to oversee the many vital programs that protect the health and well-being of people across the country. The HHS secretary plays a critical role in directing the department as well as in shaping and carrying out the administration’s work on a wide array of health care programs. Azar had a long career at HHS and most recently worked as an executive at the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. But as he begins the confirmation process, he must demonstrate how he will bring the leadership and skills necessary to carry out an agenda that will help advance and sustain the health of all families as opposed to corporate and big-money interests. Moreover, Azar will need to show whether he is prepared to provide sound leadership and not act as a rubber stamp for the harmful agendapromoted by President Donald Trump and former HHS Secretary Tom Price.
Women and families across the country rely on programs such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid, Medicare, and other initiatives that provide accessible and affordable health care. The HHS secretary must engender confidence that their top priority will be to protect the integrity of our nation’s health care services and infrastructure as well as the well-being of every individual without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, gender identity, or ZIP code. The nominee must bring to the table the requisite skills and qualifications necessary to provide sound, informed, and cogent leadership to direct the work of a federal agency with a budget of over $1 trillion, 10 regional offices, and the subagencies discussed below, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Continue reading “Why the HHS Secretary Nomination Matters for Women and Families”