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Tavenner Gains Early Support

 |  By Margaret@example.com  
   November 29, 2011

Healthcare stakeholders and others are beginning to offer support for the nomination of Marilyn Tavenner to succeed Donald Berwick, MD, as administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Tavenner is currently second in command at CMS. President Obama tapped her for the top spot late last Wednesday after Berwick announced his resignation effective December 2.

The Berwick resignation is bittersweet for the Obama administration. Nominated just a few weeks after Congress passed in March 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Berwick was lauded in many circles as a healthcare reform wunderkind. But some members of Congress were still stinging from the passage of the ACA and derailed the nomination.

The President then took the controversial step of naming Berwick to the CMS post during a Congressional recess.

During Berwick's 18-month tenure, Tavenner managed to remain out of the spotlight or so it seemed to the world outside of CMS. "She's been low key to the outside world, but not within the agency," former CMS administrator Tom Scully told HealthLeaders Media in a telephone interview.

Scully, who headed the agency from 2001 to 2004, calls himself Marilyn Tavenner's biggest fan. He's known her for 20 years; they met when she was working for HCA in Virginia. He says she brings an effective management style and big picture understanding to the job. "She has actually run healthcare. She ran Virginia's Medicaid program. She knows pharmacy, physicians, outpatient care ­-- everything about healthcare."

Scully, whose own nomination to head CMS was approved by a unanimous vote of the Senate, said he expects Tavenner will also to win confirmation despite the opposition faced by Berwick. "The time is right. Berwick was nominated right after the healthcare reform vote but things have calmed down now."

Surprisingly silent on either Berwick's departure or Tavenner's nomination is Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and will play a key role in the hearing process. Efforts to get a comment from the senator were unsuccessful.

On the other side of the aisle, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the ranking Republican member of the Finance Committee, quickly issued this statement: "I'm glad the White House opted against another end run around the Senate and instead has put forward a CMS nominee that the Senate must thoroughly examine. Any nominee to a federal agency with this much power and authority over the lives of millions of Americans must be carefully scrutinized. Republicans on the Finance Committee look forward to examining her record and gaining an understanding of her views of Medicare, Medicaid and the President's health law."

Hatch opposed the Affordable Care Act and led the opposition to Berwick. Some political pundits have suggested that Republicans will welcome the Tavenner hearing as an opportunity to reopen the debate on healthcare reform.

Here's what some leading healthcare groups have to say about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination for administrator of CMS:

American Medical Association
Peter W. Carmel, MD, president of the AMA, noted in the AMA's statement that with the "changes and challenges facing the Medicare and Medicaid programs, CMS needs stable leadership, and Marilyn Tavenner has the skills and experience to provide it." He said the AMA has worked extensively with her in her role as deputy administrator of CMS, and she has been "fair, knowledgeable and open to dialogue."

American Hospital Association
AHA President and CEO Richard Umbdenstock called Tavenner "a very capable administrator who has been a key player at CMS in her role as principal deputy administrator." In the AHA statement he credits her "varied and rich background as a former nurse, health care executive, and government official at the state level" with providing "a very unique perspective in understanding both the implications of public policy and their implementation. We have no doubt that she will provide strong leadership in these challenging times."

America's Health Insurance Plans
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of AHIP, released a statement praising Marilyn Tavenner's "proven leadership ability and wealth of experience in both the private and public sectors are invaluable assets to CMS as it seeks to address the many health care challenges facing the nation.  We look forward to continuing to work with her to improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care in America."

Association of American Medical Colleges
Darrell G. Kirch, MD, president and CEO of AAMC, said in a statement that Marilyn Tavenner "has been an important partner to the AAMC during her time at CMS, and we look forward to working with her as teaching hospitals and their physicians continue to lead changes in the healthcare delivery system. He credited her career as a nurse, hospital administrator, and head of Virginia's Department of Health and Human Resources as providing her with the "real-world understanding of the vital role that America's teaching hospitals play in the nation's health care system."

Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
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