For nearly 10 years the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has essentially lacked any sort of primary director. There have been many able temporary bosses, sure; however, the last time the Senate actually confirmed a director for the CMS was Mark McClellan, President George W. Bush’s pick, in 2004.
“The problem, in a nutshell,” the Washington Post writes in an editorial, “is that the CMS directorship has gotten caught up in the polarized politics of health care.”
That might be about to change, however. The current CMS administrator is Marilyn Tavenner, and President Obama has nominated her to be the permanent director. The difference: she has bipartisan support. The problem: why is this a political issue in the first place? Oh, that’s right: because healthcare is now a political platform and ideology, rather than job qualification, is the first item to tick off. Or, rather: political ideology is now a job requirement.
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