Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Daschle Withdraws as HHS Secretary Nominee

Perhaps now that Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination people with gain a reprieve form the impetus to mandate electronic health care records.

Electronic records will be much more costly than proposed, they are not secure and will be much able to be shared, and more easily shared with numerous parties beyond the health care provider and the patient.

I will be a guest on Dr. Katherine Albrecht's radio program on Monday 9 February at 4 PM EST discussing this topic.

By Deborah Flapan
Medscape Medical News 2009. © 2009 Medscape

February 3, 2009 — Tom Daschle withdrew his name today from consideration for Department of Health and Human Services secretary.

News recently surfaced that Mr. Daschle owed about $140,000 in back taxes. He quickly paid the taxes and called his failure to pay "completely inadvertent," according to The New York Times.

The withdrawal appears to be a surprise to many on Capitol Hill and in the White House; it comes a day after Senate Democrats and President Obama pledged their support to Mr. Daschle.

In a statement announcing his decision, Mr. Daschle said that healthcare reform requires "a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress and the American people, and without distraction.

"Right now, I am not that leader, and will not be a distraction," he said.

President Obama said in a statement that he accepted Mr. Daschle's withdrawal "with sadness and regret."

He added, "Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged. He has not excused it, nor do I. But that mistake, and this decision, cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country."

0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | Macys Printable Coupons