House Democrats Renew Calls for CMS Administrator’s Removal

We are sharing this reporting by Politico Pulse because it is important for our members to understand the political climate in which key health policymakers operate.

“Eight House Democrats are calling for the removal of CMS Administrator Seema Verma after the [Department of Health and Human Services] HHS inspector general found she mishandled millions of dollars in government contracts. [ANCOR note: here is an article on the HHS inspector general’s findings.]

The letter to Trump led by Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) included Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the health department’s finances.

— The missive criticizes Verma’s prior testimony on the contracts. She previously told Congress that the contracts were in line with how CMS used resources in the past and were focused on promoting the agency’s work.

‘Verma has grossly misused CMS funding, has reliably prioritized herself over the American people, and it is now clear she lied under oath,’ the Democrats wrote.

— Democrats are close to finalizing their own investigation. In a separate statement, four top House and Senate Democrats said their probe — which draws on tens of thousands of pages of documents — will contain further information about Verma’s spending and decision-making.”