White House Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle resigned last week. She was the person appointed by President Obama to look into government action (or inaction) on MECFS following the Millers' inquiry at a town hall meeting in Reno.
Ms. DeParle's activity in government health care policy dates back to the Clinton administration, when she ran the Medicare and Medicaid programs. More recently, she is widely credited with a key role in shaping the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama. However, she did not seem to have begun any investigations into MECFS prior to her resignation. Our attempt in early October to make an appointment for a meeting in person or by electronic means at any time in the future was soundly rebuffed by her secretary.
Ms. DeParle now joins the Brookings Institute as a Guest Scholar – a common perch for Democrats between deployments. She will also teach at Harvard.
Some observers link her departure to the fact that President Obama showed no interest in promoting her to serve as White House Chief of Staff although that position became vacant once he promoted Jack Lew to Treasury Secretary.