Kathleen Sebelius

A political science professor at the University of Kansas is headed for Nepal and Bangladesh at the invitation of the U.S. State Department.

Burdett LoomisBurdett Loomis, a former aide to ex-Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, will leave tomorrow on the 15-day trip.

Loomis will meet with regional leaders, journalists, students and faculty and speak about U.S. policy and the Obama administration.

He has had several recent assignments from the State Department, traveling to Iraq in February and China, Malaysia and Singapore last year.

In Nepal and Bangladesh, he plans to review the 2008 election and its effect on the Congress as well as the media impact on U.S. politics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities indicted 53 people on Wednesday for schemes to cheat Medicaid out of $50 million.

 Suspects were arrested in Detroit, Miami, and Denver as part of a wide-ranging effort by the government to crack down on those allegedly defrauding the government-funded health care program for the elderly and disabled.

 Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and FBI Director Robert Mueller announced the charges at a news conference in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The insurance lobby won’t be able to block a public health plan because most Americans realize they would be better off if the industry had competition, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday as congressional committees worked to shape legislation.

 In an interview with The Associated Press, Sebelius said that President Barack Obama does not want to drive health insurers out of business, but make them more competitive by offering working families and small businesses the option of a public plan without the high overhead costs of marketing, administration and profits.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Covering the uninsured could take several years, even if Congress passes a bill and President Barack Obama signs it into law this fall, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday.

 “Will something probably be phased in? You bet,” Sebelius said in a question-and-answer session with The Associated Press. “It won’t start the day after the bill passes.” It could take until sometime during the next presidential term, which starts in 2013, she said.

WASHINGTON-- HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the department will take important steps necessary to prepare for potential commercial-scale production of a candidate vaccine for the novel Influenza A ( H1N1).

The Secretary is directing approximately $1 billion in existing funds that will be used for clinical studies that will take place over the summer and for commercial-scale production of two potential vaccine ingredients for the pre-pandemic influenza stockpile.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Payroll records show that the Kansas governor’s chief of staff received a 9.6 percent salary increase in January.

Those records show that Troy Findley’s salary rose to $100,000. The raise was granted while Kathleen Sebelius was governor. She resigned April 28 to become U.S. secretary of health and human services.

Gov. Mark Parkinson not only has kept Findley as chief of staff but has appointed him lieutenant governor as well.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said this morning that she’s confident health industry leaders will make good on their promise to slow the growth of medical care costs.

 And she also suggested that the Obama administration wouldn’t hesitate to call them out if they retreat on the promise to slow spending growth by $2 trillion over the next 10 years.

from HealthDay 

President Barack Obama's administration is weighing whether to craft a fall vaccination campaign that could mean three flu shots for Americans, two of those aimed straight at the swine flu virus that has been circulating around the globe in recent weeks.

The Washington Post reports that this would mark the first time the government has asked its citizens to get more than one flu vaccine a year.

Experts are looking at who ought to get the swine flu shots and whether vaccine makers can make both 180 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine and up to 600 million rounds of the new vaccine, the newspaper reported.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius stuck to her ideological guns Thursday, vetoing legislation that would have imposed new requirements on late-term abortion.

Sebelius has vetoed similar measures in the past, but today’s action comes as she awaits a final vote by the U.S. Senate on her nomination to lead the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Anti-abortion groups oppose her nomination based on her support for abortion rights and her ties to late-term abortion provider George Tiller of Wichita.

The legislation would have required late-term abortion providers to report to state health officials the specific medical diagnoses used the justify the otherwise illegal procedure. Late-term abortions are prohibited unless necessary to save the life of the women or prevent a serious medical threat. Many lawmakers say they think late-term abortion providers like Tiller should have to report just what medical condition required the procedure.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius may not be moving to Washington just yet, but her national profile continues to rise. She'll be in Boston in June to deliver graduation remarks at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Check out the release, in which Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood calls Sebelius "a model for our students of public service.”

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius surprised absolutely no one today by vetoing legislation designed to resurrect two coal plants in Western Kansas.

Now comes the big question mark: do lawmakers have the two-thirds majorities needed to override her veto? We'll find out in two weeks when lawmakers return to Topeka.

Quick  history lesson: Sunflower Electric Power Corp. wants to build coal plants near Holcomb. State regulator rejects project because of carbon emissions. Legislature cries foul, four times passes legislation to authorize plants. Sebelius vetoes all four efforts.

Here's what Sebelius, a Democrat, had to say today in her latest veto:

The Colorado-based utility looking to buy much of the power from two proposed Western Kansas coal plants is "re-evaluating its long-term resource planning."

That could be a deal-changer in the fight to build the plants near Holcomb. Kansas lawmakers have tried to resurrect the energy project ever since it was blocked by the administration of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Hays-based Sunflower Electric Power Corp. wants to build the project and sell most of the energy to out-of-state utilities - the largest being Tri-State Generation and Transmission.

Late last week, Tri-State's board of directors announced the utility would re-evaluate its future plans and focus more heavily on renewables. At least part of this comes as a response to the continued coal fight in Kansas.

UPDATED: 3:25 p.m 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius stepped around potential land mines on abortion and her own tax errors today as she testified at a hearing en route to her expected confirmation as health and human services secretary.

 Sebelius was not asked any questions about abortion, an issue that’s caused loud complaints from conservative groups angered about her vetoes of some abortion restrictions and the presence of a prominent abortion doctor at a reception at the governor’s residence.

 Nor was Sebelius asked about what she has called “unintentional errors” related to charitable deductions, mortgage interest and business expenses on her most recent tax returns. She has paid nearly $8,000 in taxes and penalties.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A $7,000 tax mistake shouldn’t disqualify Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius from serving as the nation’s top health official, a key Republican senator said Wednesday.

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa told home state reporters in a conference call that he felt Sebelius made “a good-faith effort” to pay her taxes correctly in the first place, and errors discovered in a recent review should not count against her.

 Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said he is reserving judgment on Sebelius until confirmation hearings.

But taxes won’t be the deciding factor for him. The committee holds a hearing Thursday on Sebelius’ nomination and must vote to send her nomination to the full Senate.

UPDATED: 5:45 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius has corrected three years of tax returns and paid more than $7,000 in back taxes after finding “unintentional errors” — the latest tax troubles for an Obama administration nominee.

 The Kansas governor explained the changes to senators in a letter dated today that was obtained by The Associated Press. She said they involved charitable contributions, the sale of a home and business expenses.

 She and her husband paid a total of $7,040 in back taxes and $878 in interest to amend returns from 2005-2007.

Hearing is now over

****

UPDATED 2:45 p.m. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Saying she’d be a tough enforcer, President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday called for a crackdown on medical fraud as part of any health care overhaul.

“Having a few strike operations may be the most effective way to send the signal that there’s a new sheriff in town, and I intend to take this very, very seriously,” Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal magistrate judge has rejected a utility’s demand to depose Gov. Kathleen Sebelius before she is confirmed as health and human services secretary.

 U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Bostwick issued his order today denying an expedited deposition of Sebelius in the lawsuit filed by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. The Hays-based utility is suing the state over its refusal to issue permits for two coal-fired plants in western Kansas.

 Sebelius could still be deposed later.

 Bostwick says the expedited deposition would be a burden to the governor. She has argued she is busy with the Legislature and preparing for her confirmation hearings.

After a day of uncertainty, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said Tuesday he would vote to confirm Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for secretary of Health and Human Services.

“The President won the election and has nominated a Kansan to the cabinet,” Brownback said in a statement. “Despite our profound policy differences, I will support my fellow Kansan.”

Brownback joined Sen. Pat Roberts, who also made his intentions known Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, Brownback had deferred. “He doesn’t plan to say anything either way at this point,” said a spokesman.

Here's what the KS Republican Party had to say this morning about the news that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, will head up HHS:

Topeka, KS—Today, the Kansas Republican Party released this statement following the announcement that Governor Kathleen Sebelius has been nominated to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“With the announcement today, the Governor leaves behind her a long string of broken promises. Chief among these is her promise to provide health care reform to Kansans—but none ever occurred,” said Executive Director Christian Morgan.

“Since the Governor took office, the number of people covered by commercial health insurance has decreased by approximately 15% while the number of people covered by Medicaid has increased by 30%. At the same time, the number of uninsured people in Kansas has remained steady. The Governor has done nothing to reduce the number of people without health insurance in this state—instead there has been a large increase in the number of people covered by Medicaid. She offered no initiatives to make health insurance more affordable, nor has she created her own plan. Any sort of health insurance/health care policy has come from the Legislature or other outside bureaucracies.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says she still hasn’t talked to President Barack Obama about a potential appointment to his Cabinet.

 In Washington, Sebelius is considered a leading contender for health and human services secretary. She returned to Kansas on Tuesday after a National Governors Association meeting in the nation’s capital.

 But she told The Associated Press: “I saw the president a number of times, but we did not have a specific conversation about HHS.”