Q&A with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who swung through Portland last week, talked with The Oregonian about the federal effort to redesign the health insurance market and expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. It remains to be seen whether it can be done without driving up costs or imposing limits that prove unacceptable to the majority of Americans who have health coverage.
 
Q. You have publicly lamented the "misinformation" about the health reform law. What's the problem?

A. Well, it's not stopping us from implementing the law in a timely fashion. But what we find is, we have to re-educate people about the fact that there really is a benefit coming their way, that it's pretty simple to take advantage of it, and that the law actually is going to provide some help and relief. What I find is as we do that, a regulation at a time and a group at a time, there is a noticeable enthusiasm. I get reactions like, "Really, I didn't know that was happening. I thought something else was happening." There's confusion.