Obama sets sights on next Medicare administrator
Though the White House has not made it official yet, President Obama reportedly knows who he wants to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Harvard Medical School Professor Donald Berwick is being widely reported as President Obama's choice to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which will be a linchpin agency for both health care reform and health information technology implementation.
Under the health reform law, Medicare is facing substantial budget cuts, while Medicaid will be expanding its coverage dramatically. Under the economic stimulus law, CMS is distributing $17 billion in incentive payments to doctors and hospitals who buy and meaningfully use health IT systems.
Berwick, in addition to being a professor, has never run anything larger than his 110-employee Cambridge consulting firm, according to a report in the Boston Globe, and yet he has many supporters who believe he can shape a "dream team" to transform U.S. health care, says a report in Government Health IT.
The White House has not added Berwick's name to its Web list of appointments and nominees. If named, Berwick would have to be confirmed by the Senate.
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