Two longtime Centers for Medicare and Medicaid staffers — Liz Richter and Jeff Wu — will temporarily lead CMS under the Biden administration, according to a staff email from former CMS Administrator Seema Verma, and obtained by the Politico news organization.
Richter, a 30-year CMS veteran who most recently served as the deputy center director of the Center for Medicare, will serve as CMS’ acting administrator. Wu, with CMS since 2011, led the agency’s work on Obamacare insurance reforms at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, and will now serve as Richter’s deputy, Politico report.
In a Jan. 14 letter to former President Trump, Verma cited several CMS successes under her watch. Among them: Medicare Advantage and Part D price reductions; regulatory relief during the pandemic; expansion of telemedicine; and support of state leaders as they designed their own Medicaid programs. She also talked about the agency’s accomplishments in a recent blog post.
