Tavenner renominated to head CMS

President Barack Obama re-nominated Marilyn Tavenner to be permanent administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She has been serving as acting administrator since December 2011, when Donald Berwick, MD, stepped down.

If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first permanent CMS administrator in seven years. Tavenner is the former Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources under then Gov. Tim Kaine and served as principal deputy administrator of CMS under Berwick..

Tavenner manages the $820 billion federal agency, which ensures healthcare coverage for 100 million Americans, with 10 regional offices and more than 4,000 employees across the U.S. With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, she also oversees the insurance reforms and health insurance exchange marketplaces included in the law.