Player Profile: Robert (Bob) Kocher

Courtesy Who Runs Gov

Current Position: National Economic Council, Special Assistant to the President for Health Care (since January 2009)

Boss: NEC Director Lawrence H. Summers, NEC Deputy Director Diana Farrell, NEC Deputy Director Jason Furman.

Why He Matters
An expert on international health policy and the economics of U.S. health care, Kocher joined the Obama administration earlier this year as a member of the National Economic Council.

As a member of the president's health-care economics and policy brain trust, Kocher is on the front lines of the administration's efforts to shape and enact health care reform.

Kocher is a former partner at the Washington-based international consulting firm McKinsey & Co., where he led research efforts to determine causes of high U.S. health-care costs for the McKinsey Global Institute, the firm's economic research department.

In his current role, Kocher is charged with finding ways to reform the U.S. health system by slowing cost increases and improving clinical outcomes. He also advises the president on rural economic policy, food safety and obesity.

Click here to read about other major players in the health-care reform debate.