Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner announced Jan. 16 that she will resign her post at the end of February.
Ms. Tavenner joined CMS in February 2010 and oversaw the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, passed a month into her leadership tenure. She was the first administrator to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in more than 6 years.
In a Jan. 16 e-mail to CMS staff, Ms. Tavenner highlighted a number of agency achievements during her time as administrator, commending staff’s “hard work, dedication, commitment, and resolve” that are “truly transforming health care in this country.”
Among the achievements she highlighted were improvements in quality of health care delivered, historically overall low growth in health care spending, increased fraud detection, greater transparency, publication of health care data and indicators, and improved access to health care.
“Marilyn led the effort to accelerate the development and expansion of innovative new health care payment and delivery models,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Jan. 16 in an e-mail to all CMS staff.
A low point of Tavenner’s tenure was the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov; however, Ms. Burwell commended her for her work to “help right the ship, bringing aboard a systems integrator and overseeing an overhaul of the website.”
Principal Deputy Administrator Andy Slavitt will take over as acting administrator in March, Ms. Burwell said.
