HR3590 Health Care Bill & Government Health Insurance

President Barack Obama has appointed Donald Berwick, a pediatrician and professor from Harvard University, as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. According to a feature on USA Today, his predecessors as well as outside experts expressed that Berwick will play an important role in the implementation of the new health care reform law.

Among the things that Berwick is expected to be involved in is formulating a strategy to trim down $500 billion from Medicare over the next ten years, as well as to expand Medicaid coverage to 16 billion people.

The President’s appointee received praise from top medical groups that include the American Medical Association (AMA). Republicans, however, were not too keen about the decision to use a recess appointment in order to bypass the confirmation process of the Senate.

The 63-year-old Berwick was first nominated in April, but the nomination was opposed by Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. With nearly 200 appointments reportedly pending in the Senate, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs explained that the administration took action in the interest of avoiding further delays on what was described as the critical post.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is relatively unknown outside of the medical industry. Its function is to oversee Medicare for seniors and Medicaid for the poor, and controls an annual budget of more than $800 billion.

Thomas Cully, who headed the agency from 2001 to 2004, said: “Everything he does every day has an impact on every doctor, every hospital and every patient in the country.”