Report: White House considers Cleveland Clinic exec for VA head

The Obama administration is considering nominating Cleveland Clinic executive Toby Cosgrove to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday.

Cosgrove is, according to U.S. News and World Report, is a Vietnam veteran. But he’s best known professionally for running one of the country’s largest and most successful health care systems. The Cleveland Clinic regularly hits top marks in health quality and safety rankings. It is an early adopter of some of the programs in Obamacare, that aim to pay doctors based on the quality of the care they provide rather than sheer volume.

Picking Cosgrove would signal that the Obama administration is most interested in replacing Eric Shinseki, who resigned last week, with someone who has a track record of making health systems work.