More Evidence of Seriousness on Healthcare Reform: Daschle's Likely HHS Team

(MoneyWatch)  Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, nominated last week as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services by President-elect Barack Obama, is apparently already assembling a team heavy on both policy and legislative expertise -- the latest sign that the incoming administration is ready to put some serious muscle behind healthcare-reform plans.

While it's not yet clear who will get which jobs, the names of some of the leading players are starting to emerge. Late last week, the Washington Post's Ceci Connolly reported that Jeanne Lambrew, a University of Texas professor and the co-author of Daschle's recent healthcare-policy book, is "certain to be given a top post" at HHS -- possibly deputy secretary or assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. Lambrew served in a variety of roles in the Clinton administration, including a stint at HHS during Clinton's own push for healthcare reform, and is also a fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank that has served as a sort of Democratic administration-in-exile during the Bush years.

On the legislative side, former Sen. Ted Kennedy aide Dora Hughes, an M.D. with substantial experience on Capitol Hill, is "poised for a leading role," according to Connolly. The WaPo also suggests that Emory University professor Kenneth Thorpe, another Clinton-era HHS official, or Judith Feder, who has experience both in HHS and in Congress, could be tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

TNR's Jonathan Cohn has some more insight into the people Obama and Daschle are surrounding themselves with:

According to sources closes to the transition, [Daschle will] be joined by a set of analysts including Lauren Aronson, Mark Childress, Dora Hughes, and Jeanne Lambrew. Harvard economist David Cutler will be serving as a part-time, outside advisor, reprising a role he served during the campaign. Among the other outside advisers are Jonathan Blum, Rahul Rajkumar, Terrell McSweeny, and Jenny Backus.

It's an interesting blend of policy intellectuals and veteran strategists, including a pair of M.D.'s. Hughes, whose resume includes stints both in the Senate and at the Commonwealth Fund, is board-certified in internal medicine; Rajkumar, who established himself as one of Obama's more eloquent spokespersons during the campaign, is currently a resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

The team is heavy on people who know a thing or two about moving plans through Congress. Take Aronson. Her most recent job was in Rahm Emanuel's office. There, she advised him on floor strategy; she also was a liason to other members and outside stakeholders. Before that, she worked for Chris Jennings, a former Clinton staffer who is one of the best known health care advisers in town. So, like Daschle's appointment, the naming of this team suggests that Obama is serious about pursuing health care reform.

For what it's worth, Cohn also suggests that Cutler and incoming budget chief Peter Orszag could be at loggerheads over the expected cost savings of up-front investment in healthcare IT systems, which is emerging as a significant component of the Democrats' likely plan. Cutler believes IT investment will pay off in cost savings down the road; Orszag is reportedly a skeptic. Which will at least give us health geeks something fun to watch.