President Barack Obama is turning to former Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene of Medina to solve problems plaguing the online site for the federal health insurance exchange.
DelBene is the husband of freshman Democratic Congresswoman Suzan DelBene whose 1st District includes communities in south and east Snohomish County.
Congresswoman DelBene issued this statement following the announcement by the Obama Administration.
“I’m pleased that the President has appointed Kurt to help oversee the continued improvement and implementation of the federal Healthcare.gov website.
“The fact remains that there are millions of Americans who do not have access to affordable, quality healthcare today. To change that, it’s critically important that Healthcare.gov works as it was supposed to. With his long career in the private sector, Kurt has the unique combination of skills and experience as an executive in the technology industry to manage a project the size and scope of Healthcare.gov. I’ve long said that we need more people to enter public service who are focused on delivering results. Kurt has demonstrated throughout his career that he is about results, and his decision to join the Administration will be extremely valuable to their efforts to improve the website.”
Updated 10:15 a.m.
Kurt DelBene will replace Jeffrey Zients as senior advisor to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Here is Sebelius’ announcement of the hiring.
DelBene, who will start work this week, will be entitled to receive a salary of $119,554 a year. However, he intends to work for free and will return his paychecks to the U.S. Treasury.
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