Trump considers 3 leaders for health policy roles: Report

President-elect Donald Trump is likely to select three health policy experts to senior roles at CMS, sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post in a  Jan. 14 report.

Former Senate staffer Stephanie Carlton, RN, is expected to be chosen as chief of staff to Mehmet Oz, MD, whom Trump picked as CMS administrator. Healthcare entrepreneur Chris Klomp is expected to lead the Medicare program, while Abe Sutton, who served in the first Trump administration, is likely to be chosen to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

The appointments are not finalized, sources told the Post.

Here is what to know about the potential leaders:

  • As a McKinsey consultant, Ms. Carlton co-wrote a 2022 analysis indicating millions of ACA enrollees benefit from subsidiaries expanded under the Biden administration, which are set to expire at the end of 2025, the Post reported. She is assisting Dr. Oz with his anticipated Senate confirmation fight, according to people familiar with the matter.

  • Mr. Klomp served as CEO of Collective Medical, a healthcare IT firm, before its acquisition in 2020. He has advocated for improved care coordination and was part of a bipartisan group that attended a 2017 White House event focused on improving healthcare interoperability. He previously praised interoperability rules finalized by Trump health officials in March 2020 and said it would give patients greater control over their data, the Post reported.

  • Mr. Sutton, who previously worked in the White House and at HHS, helped oversee an initiative to improve kidney care and supported efforts to increase competition in health insurance markets and lower drug prices, the Post reported.

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