Former CMS Administrator to work on defending ACA
The now-ex-administrator of CMS, Andy Slavitt, plans on staying in Washington, D.C., part-time to help save at least some parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to an exclusive interview with POLITICO.
Slavitt says while he’ll spend time in his native Minnesota, as well, he won’t be returning to his former job at health consultant Optum. That doesn’t mean he’ll become a lobbyist or seek any elected office, but he’s promising to work with lawmakers, hospital executives and healthcare providers to try modifying the ACA rather than fully eliminating it.
The interview goes further into his post-CMS plans and favored healthcare reforms than his final speech to agency employees.
He acknowledges the current Republican control of government makes it likely more “free market ideas” will have to be included in any ACA fix, but he’s open to discussing certain proposals, even one he calls “a terrible idea,” that being high-risk pools.
“If we are having a rational debate over risk pools versus reinsurance, that’s where Washington should be on policy issues,” Slavitt said.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.