WASHINGTON -- Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle has been offered the job of Health and Human Services secretary by President-elect Barack Obama and has accepted the job, according to a Democratic source close to Daschle.

Daschle had been a close adviser to Obama throughout the Illinois senator's campaign for the White House. Daschle, who represented South Dakota in the Senate, recently wrote a book on his proposals to improve health care and is working with former Senate majority leaders on recommendations to improve the system.

According to CNN.com, Daschle also negotiated that he will serve as White House health "czar" so that he will report directly to the incoming president. That guarantees Daschle, and not White House staffers, would be writing the health care plan Obama submits to Congress next year.

While the timing of an official announcement has not been worked out yet, Daschle will officially join the Obama transition team as the lead adviser on health issues in the next few weeks, an official with Obama's transition team told The Associate Press.

The official revealed plans for Daschle on grounds of anonymity in the absence of any official announcement. The focus of the working groups is to develop proposals and plans for action for the next administration.