Some Perspective on Berwick Nomination
During the Finance Committee confirmation hearing on the Medicare trustees just concluded, Sen. Roberts noted that the Committee was not considering the nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – the position and the agency that actually implements the program the Medicare trustees oversee. While Sen. Roberts acknowledged that Chairman Baucus has said he will hold a hearing with Dr. Berwick at some point, he also made the trenchant observation that testimony on a discrete hearing topic (e.g., accountable care organizations) is NOT an adequate substitute to a confirmation hearing, where the full range of a nominee’s experiences and views – including views on how Dr. Berwick plans to implement the 2,700 page health care law – can be examined.
Although Chairman Baucus stated his desire to have Dr. Berwick appear before the Committee at some point, he once again gave no indication as to when that might occur. He did however state his desire to move “expeditiously” in confirming the Medicare trustees, as none had been in place since the 2007 trustees report. To that end, Medicare has been without a Senate-confirmed Administrator since 2006 – yet Chairman Baucus did not indicate when he intends to move on Dr. Berwick’s still pending nomination by holding a confirmation hearing, or whether he will do so “expeditiously.”