Nov. 23, 2011 - President Barack Obama is nominating Marilyn Tavenner to succeed
Donald M. Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Tavenner, who is the agencys principal deputy administrator, will serve on an acting basis as administrator during the
confirmation process, according to an
announcement to CMS staff.
Berwick was not confirmed by the Senate and instead got a recess appointment from Obama. His appointment expires Dec. 31
and he will be stepping down Dec. 2.
A nurse, Tavenner has has played a key role in overseeing Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
In remarks to the National Association of Medicaid Directors last month, Tavenner shared her thoughts on how to control health care costs,
themes that are very similar to ideas Berwick has expressed repeatedly throughout his tenure.
"The only way to stabilize costs without cutting benefits or provider fees is to improve care to those with the highest
health care costs," she said. Tavenner also said she opposed Republican efforts to turn Medicaid into a block grant that would limit the
amount of federal funding states can receive for the program.
"That approach would simply dump the problem on states and force them to dump
patients, benefits or make provider cuts or all the above," she said.
News of Tavenners appointment was first reported by
CQ HealthBeat.
Before coming to CMS, Tavenner served as secretary of Virginias Health and Human Services where she oversaw 12 agencies
that employed 18,000 people. Her career also included 25 years working for the Hospital Corporation of America where she started as a staff
nurse and became president of outpatient services, according to an alumni profile posted on the Virginia Commonwealth Universitys web site.
Deep partisan divides have stopped Congress from confirming Berwick since mid-October 2006, creating instability in the
agency that oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Obama installed Berwick in July 2010 as a recess appointment, which was heavily criticized by
Republicans who accused the pediatrician of favoring health care rationing -- a charge Democrats dismissed as nonsense.
The current political climate on Capitol Hill may mean that Tavenner is just as likely to see her nomination stall. A
bipartisan panel charged with finding $1.2 trillion in budget savings over the next decade deadlocked with members unable to bridge
differences over the difficult issues of taxes and entitlement spending and rancor between the parties is only expected to grow heading into
the 2012 elections.
Notes: Staff writers Sarah Barr and Christian Torres contributed to this article.
Nov. 23, 2011 - President Barack Obama is nominating Marilyn Tavenner to succeed
