The senate has been much busy over the last few months in confirming the new cabinet nominees and other key staff members of the president since Donald Trump took charge as the President of United States of America. President Trump also seems to be busy making political appointments, which were not subject to the approval of the Senate.
One of the most notable Senate confirmations that happened last month was the approval of the President’s nominee, Seema Verma as the new Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Verma was one of the main architects of the Medicaid innovation plan of Indiana when Vice President Mike Pence was the governor of the state. The senate confirmed Seema Verma on 13 March 2017 by a vote of 55-43.
In addition, President Donald Trump selected former Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Technology at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This is actually a new position in HSS and it is currently unclear what John Fleming’s role will be in HHS. Many experts in the field of medical science also wonder how Fleming’s responsibilities will differ from that of the Director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
However, reports from several reliable sources indicate that the newly opened position in HHS might mean changes to how the agency oversees health IT. The ONC currently oversees the health IT agendas of HHS. The recent appointment of John Fleming might result in significant changes to ONC’s current role within the HHS.
In a recent announcement, President Trump also said that Donald Rucker, M.D, who was the Chief Medical Officer for Siemens, would serve as the new National Coordinator for Health IT. Many experts in the field of health IT praised Donald Trump for appointing Rucker to this position.
Furthermore, the President also confirmed the selection of Roger Severino as HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR)’s new leader. This office is responsible for enforcing security laws and HIPAA privacy. However, many key positions within the healthcare organization have not been filled yet, but, reports claim that the President, Donald Trump will be nominating the new director of the Medicare program and fill other HHS positions shortly.
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