doi:10.7916/mrgh-6a06Oral history interview with Kathleen Sebelius, 2021Sebelius, Kathleen, 1948-oral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesHealth insurance--Law and legislation--United StatesMedicaid--Law and legislation--United StatesContraceptives--Law and legislation--United StatesHealth care reform--United StatesKansas Politics and governmentSebelius, Kathleen, 1948-Obama, BarackUnited States. Department of Health and Human ServicesUnited StatesPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActKathleen Sebelius discusses her service as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2009 to 2014. She recounts her upbringing, education, and career in Kansas state politics and public administration; shares memories about the process by which she joined the Obama administration; and focuses on the administration's healthcare reform effort. Sebelius outlines her activities as HHS secretary, and provides details about the congressional history of the Affordable Care Act (ACA); the partisan dynamics of healthcare reform; the administration's negotiations with insurance and pharmaceutical companies; the possibility of a public insurance option; Medicaid expansion; the development and launch of healthcare.gov and state insurance marketplaces; the legal challenges to the ACA; the controversy surrounding the ACA's coverage of contraception; and the feminist and social justice dimensions of healthcare reform. Also discussed are Sebelius' work on food safety and food supply issues, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, and HHS' involvement with federal environmental regulation