Howard Koh stepped down from his position as the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health and ended his five-year tenure at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
President Obama nominated Koh in 2009. The 62-year-old spearheaded the Obama administration’s efforts to fight tobacco use.
Under Koh’s leadership, the HHS launched the National Tobacco Free College Campus Initiative last year. The program implemented tobacco-free policies at universities and other institutions of higher education across the country. He also championed for private health plans to provide coverage for tobacco cessation treatments through Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
In addition, Koh devised plans for better public health systems to ensure the highest standard of health for Americans.
Koh has won numerous accolades over the years, for his accomplishments in medicine and public health, including the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for National Service, Champion Award from the Campaign of Tobacco Free Kids in 2012 and was dubbed “Medical All Star” by the Boston Red Sox in 2003.
Koh plans to return to his previous post as the professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health.
Image via WSJ
