The Gist

An Obamacare Architect Speaks Out

Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on the Affordable Care Act and the right-ward tumble of politics in Kansas.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Jan. 22, 2014, in Washington.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Before she was the governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius ran the state’s high-risk health care pool, where citizens with serious health problems could get coverage despite their pre-existing conditions. High-risk pools are a favorite idea of the GOP, including many in Congress trying to cook up a replacement for Obamacare. Sebelius says high-risk pools don’t work: “Every day we heard stories of people who couldn’t afford coverage.” Sebelius helped create the Affordable Care Act while she was in President Obama’s Cabinet from 2009 to 2014.

For the Spiel, legislative antics at home and abroad.

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