President Appoints Berwick CMS Administrator During Recess - July 7, 2010

On July 7, President Obama appointed Donald Berwick, MD, as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Because the Senate is on recess this week in observance of Independence Day, Dr. Berwick will not need to be confirmed by the Senate before taking over at CMS. To remain in office, recess appointees must be confirmed before the end of the next session of Congress – in this case, December 2011. CMS has been without a permanent administrator since 2006.