Senate confirms Burwell as health secretary
(CNN) - The Senate confirmed Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next health secretary on Thursday, paving the way for new leadership at the agency heavily criticized for the rocky rollout of Obamacare.
Lawmakers voted 78-17 in confirming Burwell, 48, who was previously White House budget director.
Sunday Chatter: The midterms, Sebelius' legacy and Burwell's future
The Sunday political talk shows waded into controversial territory. Missed them? We've got you covered with the most important parts of Sunday’s political chatter.
2014: Sitting side by side on CNN’s “State of the Union” - a rarity these days on political shows, where members of opposing parties often appear during different segments to talk about the same topics - Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, addressed the challenges they both face in the upcoming midterm elections.
Sebelius’ resignation and the politics of Obamacare
(CNN) - Kathleen Sebelius, the outgoing health and human services secretary, said the decision to step down from her post was hers - not the Obama administration's.
After seeing Obamacare through its botched rollout and the eight-week fix period, and past the 7 million sign-up goal after the open enrollment deadline, Sebelius announced last week she would step down, saying Sunday it was a "logical time to leave."
Senate Democrats upbeat about confirming Burwell
(CNN) - Senate Democrats are upbeat about the prospects for confirming Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next Health and Human Services secretary, several Democratic aides told CNN on Friday.
While they recognize Republicans will use the confirmation process to highlight problems about the Obamacare rollout, Democrats believe they can close the chapter on the troubled tenure of Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and open a new one with Burwell.
Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigning
(CNN) - Kathleen Sebelius is resigning as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a White House official said Thursday.
President Barack Obama intends to nominate Sylvia Burwell, current director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace Sebelius, according to the official.
Sebelius thanks staff, warns work is far from over
Washington (CNN) - With Obamacare enrollment surpassing the key 7 million mark and the website able to handle record traffic while only experiencing some glitches, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius showed her appreciation to her department's employees.
"Today, as we mark the end of the first open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace, I want to thank you for the progress we’ve made, together," Sebelius wrote the staff Tuesday afternoon in a note obtained by CNN.
This marks a moment of vindication for Sebelius, who came under withering criticism last fall for the botched rollout of the HealthCare.gov website and some calls for her resignation.
Sebelius orders review of Obamacare website woes
Washington (CNN) - Call it a pre-emptive strike.
Hours ahead of her appearance Wednesday before a House subcommittee certain to grill her on the botched launch of the Obamacare website, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced an internal review of what happened and why.
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Colorado enrollment spikes, but age may be a problem
(CNN) - Health insurance enrollment in at least one state appears to be picking up.
Colorado’s state-based insurance exchange Connect for Colorado announced on Monday that more than 5,000 new customers have purchased private insurance since November 30, increasing the state’s total enrollment numbers in private plans by more than 50 percent.
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Administration: HealthCare.gov working smoothly
Washington (CNN) – Two months after coming online, the beleaguered HealthCare.gov website works "smoothly for the vast majority of users," the Obama administration claimed Sunday, the self-imposed deadline for getting the website up and running.
In a report and speaking to reporters, officials with the Department of Health and Human Services said more than 400 individual repairs have helped the health site increase its capacity to 50,000 users at a time, while lowering response times to less than a second. That amounts to what the administration calls “dramatic progress” in repairing the site.
Sebelius says Obamacare website improvements 'on track'
(CNN) - Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that "we are definitely on track to have a significantly different user experience by the end of this month" with the problem-plagued Obamacare website.
In a conference call with state and local officials, Sebelius added that "this isn't a magic 'turn on the on switch'" to fix HealthCare.gov and that "the experience is vastly improved each day."
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