Two months into his job as head of CMS, Don Berwick, MD, is making plans to start doling out billions of dollars to private healthcare sites to test new ways to improve healthcare quality and efficiency under the healthcare reform law, according to a report by the Boston Globe.
The money comes from a $10 billion pot the reform law earmarked for the new CMS Innovation Center to distribute over the next 10 years.
However, when the new sites will start being launched in late 2011, Dr. Berwick's July 6 recess appointment by President Obama will be running out. If he wishes to stay in his post, he will need to get Senate confirmation and win over Republican Senators who have opposed his appointment.
Dr. Berwick recently declined a request from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for a list of donors to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which Dr. Berwick headed before taking the CMS job. Sen. Grassley, the ranking Senate Finance Committee Republican, said the lack of a confirmation hearing had made it impossible to learn of potential conflicts of interest Mr. Berwick might have.
Since taking office, Dr. Berwick has shied away from the media and has made only a few tightly controlled public appearances. In an HHS web video, he said of his new job: "I love it. This agency has just won my heart."
Read the Boston Globe report on Don Berwick, MD.
Read related coverage on Don Berwick, MD.
-Don Berwick Refuses Sen. Grassley's Request for Donor List
-CMS Chief Could Face Hearings Despite Recess Appointment
-Berwick to Become CMS Administrator Without Senate Confirmation
The money comes from a $10 billion pot the reform law earmarked for the new CMS Innovation Center to distribute over the next 10 years.
However, when the new sites will start being launched in late 2011, Dr. Berwick's July 6 recess appointment by President Obama will be running out. If he wishes to stay in his post, he will need to get Senate confirmation and win over Republican Senators who have opposed his appointment.
Dr. Berwick recently declined a request from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for a list of donors to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which Dr. Berwick headed before taking the CMS job. Sen. Grassley, the ranking Senate Finance Committee Republican, said the lack of a confirmation hearing had made it impossible to learn of potential conflicts of interest Mr. Berwick might have.
Since taking office, Dr. Berwick has shied away from the media and has made only a few tightly controlled public appearances. In an HHS web video, he said of his new job: "I love it. This agency has just won my heart."
Read the Boston Globe report on Don Berwick, MD.
Read related coverage on Don Berwick, MD.
-Don Berwick Refuses Sen. Grassley's Request for Donor List
-CMS Chief Could Face Hearings Despite Recess Appointment
-Berwick to Become CMS Administrator Without Senate Confirmation