Thompson to Address HHS Staff Today, Broadcast On Web
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will today greet HHS staff in an 11 a.m. EST address to all employees upon his arrival at the Department of Health and Human Services. Following his remarks, Thompson will participate in a brief question and answer session with HHS employees in attendance. A Webcast of the address will be available at http://videocast.nih.gov/ (HHS release, 2/1).
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Bush administration has considered naming Ruben King-Shaw, secretary of Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, to head HCFA. Known as "tough but fair" within the health care industry that his agency regulates, King-Shaw was in Washington yesterday and unavailable for comment. However, Former GOP Florida House Speaker John Thrasher (R), who is helping the administration assemble a staff, said that King-Shaw is "one of two" candidates under consideration for the position. During a meeting yesterday, Thrasher said that President Bush said he "had not made up his mind" about King-Shaw, but the Sentinel reports that Bush may announce the appointment "as early as today." King-Shaw has "seen some controversies" at AHCA since Gov. Jeb Bush (R) appointed him two years ago, the Sentinel reports. For example, the agency ended an investigation into "patient dumping" at two HMOs that King-Shaw headed before moving to ACHA. At the time, King-Shaw said that the cases were dropped because of a "shift in focus" to cases involving "prescription drug fraud and patient dumping by nursing homes" (Cox, Orlando Sentinel, 2/2).
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