Health System Executive Named Medicare Chief

Modern Healthcare | By Jessie Hellmann
 
President Joe Biden's administration has selected a former not-for-profit health system executive as director of CMS' Center for Medicare, an office that oversees health benefits for tens of millions of seniors, people with disabilities and dialysis patients.
 
Dr. Meena Seshamani, who most recently was vice president of clinical care transformation at MedStar Health, started her new position Tuesday. Seshamani is a medical doctor and holds a PhD in health economics.
 
At MedStar Health, Seshamani "conceptualized, designed and implemented" public health and value-based care initiatives and oversaw efforts around community health, geriatrics and palliative care, according to a CMS news release.
 
Prior to joining Columbia, Maryland-based MedStar Health, Seshamani served as director of HHS' Office of Health Reform, where she helped implement the Affordable Care Act during Barack Obama's presidency.
 
"Dr. Meena Seshamani brings her diverse background as a health care executive, health economist, physician and health policy expert to CMS," agency Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a news release.
 
"Providing quality health care to the people who rely on Medicare and advancing health equity as we do it is a priority for CMS. I am delighted to say Dr. Seshamani will bring her unique perspective on how health policy impacts the real lives of patients to her leadership role as deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicare," Brooks-LaSure said.