Cansler leaving DHHS

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Lanier Cansler has resigned from his job to head a new commission on affordable health care.

Cansler, rumored to be leaving for weeks, has led DHHS since 2009.

Gov. Bev Perdue named Al Delia as the acting secretary of the department, according to a news release from the governor's office. Delia currently is the Governor’s senior adviser for policy. He will take over early in February.

“Governor Perdue is a tremendous leader,” Cansler said in the news release. “I am honored to have served on her team as she steered the state through incredibly difficult times and stabilized North Carolina’s fiscal house. We cut spending, eliminated waste and consolidated agencies – all to make state government more efficient without neglecting our core mission of serving the people.”
 
“I could always depend on Lanier to help find the best answer for the people of North Carolina,” Gov. Perdue said, also in the news release. “I will miss his calm, wise advice; the state is better for his service. He remains a friend and I will continue to rely on his counsel.”