New CMS Administrator Sworn In

 

Physician and Harvard professor Donald Berwick was sworn in Monday, July 12^th to become the next administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  President Obama bypassed the Senate confirmation process and named Berwick in a recess appointment during the congressional July Fourth vacation to avoid a battle over the nomination promised by Republicans. Berwick’s recess tenure is for 18 months.  The giant agency has been without a confirmed administrator since 2006.  CMS faces a number of challenges in addition to the “routine functions” of day-to-day running of Medicare and oversight of Medicaid programs as it undergoes an agency reorganization and translates a huge complex health care bill into regulations over the next 3-5 years.