By: DARLENE SUPERVILLEWASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department has a history of bucking the insurance industry, which faces the biggest hit under Obama's initial health care reform plan.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius gets her introduction to the reform debate at a White House summit Obama will call to order on Thursday.
Obama introduced Sebelius on Monday as his choice to run HHS, including overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, the twin government health programs for the elderly and the poor. Their spiraling costs threaten to bankrupt the country.
The 60-year-old, second-term governor has cultivated an image as someone who stands up to insurers.
She was state insurance commissioner in 2001 when Indianapolis-based Anthem Insurance Cos. Inc. offered to buy Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas for $190 million as it sought to expand its holdings nationwide. It promised to maintain coverage levels.
Sebelius blocked the deal in February 2002 after concluding that premiums would rise under Anthem's ownership. She prevailed when the state's highest court overturned a lower court ruling that she had exceeded her authority by rejecting the offer.
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