As of June 14, 2001, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the agency that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children=s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - has a new name, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The agency has also been reorganized into three Centers:
The Center for Medicare Management (CMM) will focus on management of the traditional Medicare program. This includes development of payment policy and management of the Medicare fee-for-service contractors. CMM will be led by Tom Grissom with Marjorie Kanof, M.D. as the Deputy Director for Payment Policy, Elizabeth Cusick as the Deputy Director for Contractor Management, and Stewart Streimer as the Associate Director for Operations.
The Center for Beneficiary Choices (CBC) will focus on the Medicare+Choice program and providing beneficiaries with information on Medicare, Medicare Select, Medicare+Choice and Medigap options. It also includes management of the Medicare+Choice plans, consumer research and demonstrations, and grievance and appeals functions. The leadership team for CBC will include Michael McMullan as the Deputy Director for Beneficiary Education and Mark Miller as the Deputy Director for Health Plans. Ms. McMullen will also serve as the Acting Director for CBC until the permanent Director is named.
The Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO) will focus on programs administered by States. This includes Medicaid, the SCHIP, insurance regulation functions, survey and certification, and the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Act (CLIA). CMSO will be lead by Dennis Smith with the existing CMSO management team.
Further information on the reorganization is posted on the DHHS web site, www.hhs.gov/news .
Copyright © Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. 01/08/2010