CMS Pick Signals Shift Toward Requiring Medicaid Participants To Have ‘Skin In The Game’
Seema Verma, a health care consultant, was an architect of Indiana's expansion of Medicaid, which requires participants to make monthly contributions.
USA Today:
Trump Nominee For Health Programs Signals Changes Ahead
As governor of Indiana, Mike Pence created an alternative Medicaid program he hoped could be a national model for revamping the joint federal and state health care program for the poor. On Tuesday, the architect of Pence’s program, which requires participants to make monthly contributions, was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head the agency which oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs. (Groppe and Cook, 11/29)
The Washington Post:
CMS Nominee Set Up Indiana’s Unusual Medicaid Expansion
Verma’s approach to expanding the state’s Medicaid program was unusual and somewhat controversial. In return for significant choice in their health coverage and enhanced benefits, the plan required many of the state’s poorest residents to contribute a few dollars into health savings accounts, then purchase their own insurance with help from the state. The idea was to make sure that the newly covered patients had some skin in the game when they made their health-care decisions. (Bernstein, 11/29)
Modern Healthcare:
Trump's CMS Pick Is Viewed As Both Patient Advocate And Foe
Given her extensive experience reforming state Medicaid agencies, the next CMS administrator could lead efforts to make Medicaid patients more financially responsible for their insurance coverage. President-elect Donald Trump Tuesday announced that Seema Verma, the president, CEO and founder of SVC, a national health policy consulting company that has helped craft Medicaid expansion plans in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, would work under Rep. Tom Price, who currently is a congressman from Georgia but has been nominated for HHS secretary. (Dickson, 11/29)
Stat:
Trump Selects Seema Verma, A Medicaid Cost-Cutter, To Helm CMS
Her selection to lead CMS is likely to provoke strong reactions from Democrats and advocates of universal coverage and the Affordable Care Act who argue that her reforms have restricted access to medical services. Trump also selected Republican Congressman Tom Price of Georgia, a fierce critic of Obamacare, to be secretary of Health and Human Services. (Ross, 11/29)
Kaiser Health News:
Trump’s Pick To Run Medicare And Medicaid Has Red State Policy Chops
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump tapped Seema Verma, a health care consultant, to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s the part of the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program and has a budget of just under a trillion dollars in 2016.Verma comes to the job with extensive Medicaid experience. Her consulting firm, SVC, Inc., worked closely with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to design Indiana’s Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. (Harper, 11/29)
Marketplace:
Will Indiana’s Medicaid Template Go National?
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is Seema Verma, the founder and CEO of a health policy consulting firm. Verma has experience working with the Indiana state government, crafting its Medicaid expansion. What might Indiana’s model mean for Medicaid in other states? (Kim, 11/29)