CMS Administrator Tom Scully Likely To Announce Resignation
CMS Administrator Tom Scully on Wednesday will likely announce his decision to leave to agency to work in the private sector, the Wall Street Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 12/3). According to the Washington Post, Scully said that he has submitted his resignation, which will take effect Dec. 16, to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson (Goldstein, Washington Post, 12/3). Scully, who has served as CMS administrator since May 2001, said that he decided to leave the agency in May, but Bush administration officials requested that he remain at CMS to work on the Medicare bill (HR 1) passed late last month, according to the New York Times. Scully agreed and received an ethics waiver from HHS that allowed him to work on "matters of general applicability like the Medicare reform bill" and negotiate with potential new employers at the same time, an HHS spokesperson said (Pear, New York Times, 12/3). Scully said that with the passage of the Medicare bill, which President Bush will likely sign on Monday, he will leave CMS on "a positive note," adding, "I wish I was sticking around to implement it, but that's probably not where my greatest strengths lie." According to the Post, Scully -- an "often colorful figure in a buttoned-down administration" -- has "been a key public voice" in efforts to promote administration Medicare and Medicaid reform proposals. Scully said that he made the decision to leave CMS for "totally for personal reasons" (Washington Post, 12/3). Scully said, "My hope is to combine work at a Washington law firm and a Wall Street investment firm," adding that he had discussions with three law firms -- Alston & Bird, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz and Ropes & Gray -- and two investment firms -- Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and Texas Pacific Group. According to the Times, Scully could earn as much as five times his current $134,000 annual salary in the private sector (New York Times, 12/3). Potential replacements for Scully include Leslie Norwalk, acting deputy administrator of CMS; Peter Urbanowicz, deputy general counsel for HHS; and William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of health at the Department of Defense, the Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 12/3).
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