WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chris Dodd hopes to bring the nation's next health care czar to Connecticut later this month as Democrats look to improve access and affordability to a system they have long sought to reform.

Dodd said Wednesday that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has agreed, if scheduling permits, to join him on a "listening tour" in Connecticut to hear what the state's insurance, businesses and health care leaders as well as ordinary citizens may recommend.

President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Daschle to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. His confirmation goes through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee where Dodd is second in command.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, who chairs the HELP committee, has tapped Dodd to serve as his chief deputy for health reform in the 111th Congress.

"This is a critically important issue and I think reforms will happen fairly quickly. I'm excited about that," Dodd said Wednesday.

To help him tackle the issue, Dodd will kick off a "Connecticut Prescriptions for Change" listening tour with a town hall meeting at Goodwin College in East Hartford on Jan. 23 that will focus on health insurance coverage and access.

Three other hearings are in the works for different locations around the state. The second will focus on wellness programs, the third on quality of care and the last on reforms of "cost drivers." "I look forward to taking ideas from those in the state," Dodd said.

There are no firm dates, times or locations for the later hearings but Dodd said that he hopes Connecticut residents will turn to his official website for details and to register to attend.

"I'm looking forward to taking their ideas back to Washington and working with President-elect Obama, his team and my colleagues to create a world class health care system in America that is accessible and affordable to all," Dodd said.

Dodd met with Daschle Tuesday and asked him to participate.

"He said he was willing to do it but I don't have a commitment yet.

It's only a few days after the inauguration but we're hoping we can get him up for at least a few hours," Dodd said.

Dodd will be joined at the first meeting by, Connecticut's Healthcare Advocate Kevin Lembo and Judith Stein, the executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

As a candidate, Obama proposed requiring small businesses to provide health coverage to employees or face a tax penalty. He also called for a government-run insurance plan to be created to compete with private companies to cover the uninsured, who now total about 46 million Americans. Obama has signaled that he intends to follow through on reforms by tapping Daschle to head DHSS.

Daschle recently penned a book in which he provides an analysis of what can be done to repair the nation's broken health-care system.

The nation spent $7,421 per person on health care in 2007 -- representing a 6.1 percent increase over the year before. That 6.1 percent was the slowest growth rate since 1998, according to a report released Tuesday by HHS's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Connecticut residents who are interested in joining a Connecticut Prescriptions for Change discussion should call Sen. Dodd's office at 202-224-2823 or email ctrx4change@Dodd.senate.gov. Visit Dodd.Senate.Gov for regular updates on the Connecticut Prescriptions for Change tour, details on future events, and more information about Dodd's work in the Senate to reform our nation's health care system.