CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama made it formal. Former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota is his nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Obama also named Daschle to lead a White House healthcare reform team, with Jean Lambrew as deputy director.

Lambrew, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an associate professor of public affairs at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, co-authored a book with Daschle titled "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis."

In making the announcement on Dec. 11, Obama said Daschle has fresh ideas and is one of foremost healthcare experts today, bringing expertise and the ability to work across the aisle.
"He has trust from folks on every angle on this issue," Obama said. "Tom is a no drama guy." Obama said Daschle would lead with decency, graciousness and pragmatism.

"It's hard to overstate the importance of this work," Obama said.

When asked how America can afford to invest in healthcare during the current economy, Obama said, "How can we afford not to?" He said he has talked to families on the campaign trail facing bankruptcy over medical expenses, and that small businesses are suffering from healthcare costs.

Healthcare reform "has to be intimately woven into our overall economic recovery plan," he said. "It's part of the emergency."

Obama said he plans to achieve a savings in healthcare over the long term, even if money must be invested in the short term. He will begin by investing in healthcare IT to cut costs.

His healthcare reform plan calls for $10 billion a year in funding for healthcare IT over five years. He also said he will take a hard look at Medicare Advantage as a program not delivering "bang for its buck."

Various groups, including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the American College of Phyisicians, have offered the administration advice on how to proceed with reform.