Sebelius, DeParle team on health reform

WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and White House adviser Nancy-Ann DeParle are spearheading health reform efforts, analysts say.

The two first met in 1997 at the Clinton White House when they were fighting to help pass a patients' bill of rights as a counterweight to the managed care industry, and now they are teaming to help enact President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, USA Today reported Tuesday.

"They have two people who not only are thoughtful emissaries but also are policy experts on healthcare," Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, told the newspaper.

"People comment on my handbag being so big," DeParle said, a joking reference to quips that she's holding a "secret healthcare" plan inside it. Instead, she says, Congress will write a plan by consensus, adding, "It becomes retail politics now. It's member-by-member."

"(Lack of health insurance) is something that a lot of families are struggling to try and figure out," Sebelius told USA Today. "If your child doesn't have a job, can you luck it out for a while or not? Can you take that risk or not? That's a difficult situation."