Obama Renominates Berwick as CMS Administrator - February 1, 2011

On Jan. 26, President Barack Obama announced that he would renominate Donald M. Berwick to serve as administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Berwick, the former president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, was originally nominated for the position in April 2011 and installed as a recess appointment in July, sidestepping the Senate confirmation process. Berwick’s recess appointment only lasts until the end of 2011, and while successive recess appointments are legally permissible, other statutory limitations and precedent mean he must be confirmed by the Senate to continue on as CMS administrator into the next year.