CMS Administrator to Leave After a Year of Service

Donald Berwick, MD, MPH, is expected to step down as the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this year, opening up the position to a new nominee in 2012. While Berwick was renominated to his post by U.S. President Barack Obama in January, unified opposition from U.S. Senate Republicans has led the Administration to open up the position to a new candidate that garners bipartisan support. A letter received by the White House had all 42 Senate Republicans opposing the renomination of Dr. Berwick to his current post..

In July 2010 President Obama appointed Dr. Berwick to serve as the Administrator of CMS through a recess appointment, a procedure that lets the president fill positions without Senate confirmation when Congress isn't meeting. At that time the agency had not had a permanent administrator since 2006. Prior to his appointment, Berwick was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a quality improvement nonprofit.

President Obama’s use of a recess appointment intensified Republican opposition to Berwick’s nomination. Further controversy ensued when Berwick discussed Great Britain’s National Health Services and potential health care cost-cutting measures. Republicans initially based their opposition on these statements, even though a CMS administrator during the Bush Administration, Mark McClellan, MD, made similar comments about Great Britain’s health care system.