UAB Synopsis, Vol. 24, No. 9, March 14, 2005
Michael Leavitt is the 20th secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Previously, he was Environmental Protection Agency administrator, three-term governor of Utah, and president and CEO of a regional insurance firm, establishing it as one of America's top insurance brokers.
According to a HHS release, the 54-year-old Leavitt is a health-care innovator, welfare reformer, and advocate for the application of technology. In 1994, the Utah legislature passed Governor Leavitt's "Healthprint," a comprehensive, incremental approach to health-care improvement in the state. A decade later, Utah has more than 400,000 additional people with health insurance, increased numbers of children with health-care coverage, improved immunization rates, and lowered per capita cost of health care 25% below the national average. As HHS secretary, "he is committed to unleashing the power of technology to improve quality of care, reduce mistakes, and manage costs."