CMS Reorganization on the Horizon

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is planning an organizational restructuring in the next 60 days, according to an internal agency email obtain by the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care.

Changes will primarily be concentrated in three areas - beneficiary services, program integrity and strategic planning. The email, authored by Acting Administrator and Chief Operating Office Charlene Frizzera, explains that the changes are necessary in order to ensure that CMS is most effectively meeting current requirements as well as preparing for the future.

The proposed new structure establishes the following:

• The position of Principial Deputy Administrator
• The Office of External Affairs and Beneficiary Services
• Four Centers, each led by a Deputy Administrator (Center for Medicare; Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification; Center for Program Integrity and the Center for Strategic Planning)

The email also announced the addition of two new CMS team members - Principal Deputy Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and Deputy Administrator for Program Integrity Peter Budetti.

The proposed realignment has not yet been through the clearance process and has not been signed off on by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, but Frizzera noted in the email that she expects the approval and effective date to occur within the next 60 days.

To view the email in its entirety, click here.