On June 28, I posted my input to the White House Office for Health Reform and Special Counselor to the President, Nancy-Ann DeParle. See Changes for Health Care Reform. In the July 2 newsletter FierceHealthcare, Ann Zieger posted the following news item:
White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle is in a tight spot. A new investigative report has concluded that DeParle earned more than $6 million serving on the boards of major healthcare corporations, some of which have been accused of fraud, mismanagement and regulatory violations during her service there.
While there's no evidence she was aware of or involved in allegedly illegal activities, she served in three cases on board committees overseeing the companies' legal and regulatory compliance. That certainly doesn't look good, regardless of what actually happened, particularly given her rep as a progressive.
One example of the problem was her involvement as director and compliance committee member at DaVita Inc., which has been subject to investigations into its billing and drug-prescribing practices. She also served in a similar role at medical equipment supplier Guidant, whose execs apparently knew of cases in which its devices failed but never disclosed those failures.
To learn more about these issues:
- read this Kaiser Health News piece
This cloud hangs over this new Administration's appointee and it could have been prevented by an adequate vetting of Ms DeParle's ongoing industry relationships. If the President has relied on her to form his health reform program or to validate its feasibility, I'm afraid we will end up with the missmash of tweakings of the current system much the way the Credit Card Reform legislation turned out to be. Only the card issuers' interests were protected. I have this feeling about health care reform that is very similar to credit card reform.
What is the problem? Is Obama thinking that his campaign blog was sufficient for leading the actual reform process? I hope he's not the boss who, after sending out copies of his opinions on a topic, assumes the recipients will faithfully refine and produce a final statement as President. I suppose Joe Biden is doing something, but I'm unclear where is turf responsibilities are. The President and his Chief of Staff move very quickly and may be outpacing their staff. Both are known to be extremely intelligent, fast thinkers.
One of my bosses was like that. In fact, those of us on his senior staff tried to raise his awareness of what his work mode did to us. For one thing, once he had grasped the nature of the issue and had formed his preferences on how to resolve it articulated or not, his mind moved on to other things. Not being mind readers or boss whisperers many of us would have questions about filling in the blanks as he had done in his extraordinary mind. His usual reaction to someone asking for more information would cause a frown and an impatience. Such a boss can be very intimidating and there developed a reluctance to raise issues or to revisit the original item. So, one staff meeting, we turned the tables and had a candid discussion with him about our division's decision-making process, specifically his. Well, he was quite surprised and it took him a while to fully digest our comments. To his credit, he really tried to be more expressive, informative and open to our ideas and concerns.
Is this what is causing simple yet crucial mistakes by the White House staff? A little hero worship? Is the almost messianic awe President Obama evokes inhibiting his staff? Or is the pace of change too ambitious for Washington--and the nation? This current time of change may suggest the need a for a breather.
# posted by Sherfdog @ 00:31
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