Bush Names Choice for New Administrator of Medicare, Medicaid
President Bush on Thursday nominated Kerry Weems, deputy chief of staff for HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, as CMS administrator, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Weems, who has worked within HHS for 24 years, previously served as acting assistant secretary for budget, technology and finance and as CFO for the department. The nomination requires Senate confirmation.
Weems would succeed former CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, who resigned in October 2006 (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 5/3).
Leslie Norwalk, who has served as acting CMS administrator since McClellan resigned, previously withdrew herself from consideration for the nomination (Freking, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/3).
Norwalk in a memo to CMS employees on Thursday said, "I believe the next administrator must be committed to stay for the remainder of the administration. It was not easy, but I decided early in the search process that I could not commit to staying for another two years."
In addition, Norwalk said that she will remain at CMS during Senate confirmation hearings on the Weems nomination (Young, The Hill, 5/3).
Bush on Thursday also nominated Tevi David Troy as deputy secretary at HHS (Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, 5/4). Troy currently serves as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy and previously served as special assistant to the president and deputy cabinet secretary (CQ HealthBeat, 5/3).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.