Obama Administration Considering Cleveland Clinic Chief Executive As Next Head

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Toby Cosgrove is being considered as the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs despite controversial past.

The Wall Street Journal reports Toby Cosgrove, Chief Executive of the Cleveland Clinic and a Vietnam Veteran, is being considered as the next head of the Department of Veteran Affairs. Cosgrove, 74, has led the Cleveland Clinic for a decade and is a cardiac surgeon and decorated Vietnam veteran. Three people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal the White House has approached him about the position, and one of them said Cosgrove is "seriously considering" accepting.

Cosgrove is in some ways a surprising choice to take charge of the VA. He has been an outspoken critic of the ACA and, according to Cleveland.com, donated to Mitt Romney’s campaign. Both Cosgrove and the Cleveland Clinic denied any donation was made.

Additionally, in a 2012 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cosgrove predicted Obamacare would dismantle the employer-based insurance system and would eventually lead to a single-payer system. In the interview, when Cosgrove was asked if he thought employers would stop providing health insurance despite being penalized under Obamacare, he indicated they would. “Increasingly, people think that in 10 years you’re going to have 75 percent of the health-care costs paid by the federal government,” he said.

Earlier this year, Cosgrove made headlines when he admitted that Obamacare has caused premium increases for a majority of Americans. “Well, people who have signed up about three-quarters of them find that their premiums are higher than they had been previously under other insurance,” he told Fox News. “Now, what we do know is it’s going to have a major effect upon healthcare providers. We know, for example, that we’re going to get paid less for what we do.” One of the major selling-points of Obamacare — the Affordable Care Act — was that it would not increase health insurance prices for most Americans.

Last year Cosgrove also revealed that because hospitals would be getting paid less under Obamacare, his clinic would have to consider lay-offs.

If chosen to lead the VA, Cosgrove would be entering the agency at what is possibly the lowest point in its history. Recent investigations have found that a growing number of VA facilities throughout the U.S. have failed to provide veterans timely coverage. Some of those hospitals placed the names of veterans on secret lists in order to meet the agency’s standard. Some believe that the VA’s bonus-payment system incentivized the practice since some bonuses are based in part on that metric.