Tag: Seema Verma

Seema Verma takes oath on Gita for top Healthcare Job

Ajay GhoshHealth, Profiles 0

Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on March 14, in a solemn ceremony at the White House. After being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Indian American Seema Verma placed her hand on the Bhagavad-Gita as she was sworn into her new role.

Surrounded by her husband Sanjay, daughter Maya, son Sean, as well as her mother and sister, Verma said she cannot wait to begin the work of overhauling key parts of the American healthcare system that covers more than 100 million Americans.

“Today, our healthcare stands at a crossroads, and we have no choice but reform it,” Verma said. President Trump has chosen “One of the leading experts” on state-based healthcare solutions in the country, said Vice President Pence introducing Verma. He credited her for designing Indiana’s Medicaid system, Healthy Indiana 2.0 while he was Governor of that state, and in states like Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and elsewhere to make health care a matter of “personal responsibility and effective care.”

“The President has asked you to bring your expertise to D.C.,” Pence said, adding, “We’re confident that you’ll help restore health care decision making to the states, and in the process help make the best healthcare system in the world even better.”

Pence played a large part in endorsing Verma for the post. She is likely to play a key role in the healthcare reform of President Donald Trump, who has made a priority to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act put into place by former President Barack Obama.

Verma, who was confirmed by the Senate in a 55-43 vote on March 13, largely along party lines and after Democratic attempts to delay what was an inevitable appointment in a Republican majority Senate. This was unlike the confirmation of most other Indian-Americans in the past who have usually been endorsed in a bipartisan vote or by a large majority.

Verma’s appointment by Trump and the opposition by the Democrats in the Senate was driven not only by ideology but also by the critical position she occupies running a massive system that enrolls more than 100 million Americans.

At her Senate confirmation hearing, Verma defended her approach by saying that low-income people are fully capable of making health care decisions based on rational incentives. She also said she does not support turning Medicare into a voucher plan under which retirees would get a fixed federal contribution to purchase private coverage from government-regulated private insurance plans.

Dr. Ajay Lodha, president of The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin which represents more than 100,000 physicians, praised Verma’s accomplishments, while hoping that the problems faced by patients under the Medicare drug plan would be improved under her leadership. “Drug coverage has gone down and for patients under Medicare who are all above 65, and not healthy and needed medications – I hope she can do something for them.” Dr. Lodha said.

Verma has found out-of-the-box solutions to design state Medicaid programs in Indiana and several other states, as the Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee Kevin Brady, R-Texas, noted in a statement. Describing Verma as “the perfect person” for the job, Brady said, “I look forward to working with her to return control of health care back to states and give patients across America more control over their own care” In Indiana, Verma, who has a background in public health, designed a Medicaid expansion along conservative lines for Pence, according to Associated Press reports.

Most beneficiaries are required to pay modest premiums. And the program uses financial rewards and penalties to steer patients to primary care providers instead of the emergency room. Critics say the plan has been confusing for beneficiaries and some have incurred penalties through no fault of their own, the AP reported.

Verma, following the ceremony, spoke of her plans to fix the current healthcare system. “Today, our health care stands at a crossroads and we have no choice but to fix our health care system. Under President Trump’s leadership and vision, we finally have an incredible opportunity to move our health care system into one that puts Americans in charge of their health care and will ensure that all Americans have access to quality health care that they can afford,” she said.

Trump Picks Seema Verma to run Medicare and Medicaid

Ajay GhoshPolitics, U.S. 0

Seema Verma, who has worked closely on healthcare with Vice President-elect Mark Pence in Indiana state, has been nominated by Donald Trump to be the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services overseeing government health insurance programs.

By assigning her “to the dream team that will transform our healthcare system,” a major campaign promise, President-elect Donald Trump by choosing Seema Verma for a high-level position in his administration, is on his way to revamp the system. Verma is the second Indian American to be on the new administration to be formed by Trump.

Announcing his intent to nominate them, Trump said: “Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans.” About Verma, Trump said: “She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems.”

“I look forward to helping him tackle our nation’s daunting healthcare problems in a responsible and sustainable way,” Verma said after Trump’s announcement.

Verma comes to the job with extensive Medicaid experience. Her consulting firm, SVC, Inc., worked closely with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to design Indiana’s Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. The expansion, known as the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0, went into effect early last year, and Verma’s involvement in it may prove important as Congress and the Trump administration, including the Vice-president elect, make decisions on the future of Obamacare.

Indiana’s unique Medicaid expansion was designed to appeal to conservatives. HIP 2.0 asks covered people to make a small monthly payment to access health insurance. A missed payment can result in six-month lockout from insurance coverage. Those provisions aren’t allowed under traditional Medicaid, but Indiana got a federal waiver to implement them.

With a track-record of developing Republican-friendly healthcare programs, Verma will play a crucial role in carrying out the high-priority Trump campaign promise of scrapping President Barack Obama’s healthcare program, popularly known as Obamacare, and replacing it with “something better.”

Although Verma’s job is not of cabinet rank now, it has great political importance and she will be in the national spotlight because she will be working on the controversial Republican vow to end Obama’s signature healthcare program, which attempts to make affordable health insurance available to all, and come up with a new model.

The Medicare program that she will oversee provides insurance for over 46 million retirees and senior citizens, who are a politically powerful block, and Medicaid, which covers the poor, has about 60 million people enrolled in it. Together they are about a third of the U.S. population. Additionally now, she will have to help shape a program for those who are outside of these two programs and do not get health insurance from their employers.

Her appointment has been widely welcomed by the growing Indian American community. Dr. Ajay Lodha, the president of the Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin, said, “The Indian community of physicians is very excited by the appointment of an Indian American to this high-level position by Present-elect Trump. We will support her endeavors,” he added. “We expect her to make Medicare more patient-friendly, especially in reforming the part of it that provides medicines.” There are nearly 70,000 doctors of Indian descent working in the US, making them an important constituency for healthcare reforms.

Susan Jo Thomas, who heads the Indiana insurance advocacy group Covering Kids and Families, says Verma’s contributions to HIP 2.0 made Medicaid expansion possible in a Republican state. “She understood that in order to get expansion in this state, it’s more about what is palatable, what can get approved,” she says.

Rep. Charlie Brown, the ranking Democrat in the state’s public health committee. “She is a smooth operator, and very, very persuasive,” he says. Brown worked in opposition to Verma in crafting the Healthy Indiana Plan, but said she was effective across party lines at incorporating the Pence administration’s wishes. She’s very resourceful and intelligent,” says Brown. “But the question now becomes, ‘What will be her marching orders as they relate to Medicare and Medicaid?’ ”

Verma, who heads a healthcare consulting company, SVC Inc., helped develop a public healthcare system in Indiana for implementing Obamacare. Among other things, it requires those using it to make contributions to it, even if it is a dollar for the poorest, which is opposed by many Democrats. She has also consulted with other Republican-run states on healthcare issues. Verma was awarded the Indiana state award, Sagamore of the Wabash, by Pence.

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