The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed two HHS officials chosen for the positions a year ago by President Barack Obama.
Sherry Glied was confirmed as assistant secretary for planning and evaluation, and Jim Esquea was confirmed as assistant secretary for legislation.
Glied, an expert in healthcare finance and mental health policy, is professor and chairwoman in the health policy and management department at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. She was a senior economist for healthcare and labor-market policy in the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 1992 to 1993, serving under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and she was part of Clinton's healthcare task force.
Esquea has been the analyst for income security and Medicaid for the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee since 1999. He previously worked in the health division of the White House Office of Management and Budget, focusing on the Food and Drug Administration.
