Tavenner First Permanent CMS Administrator Since 2006
After a brief bump in the road to confirmation Marilyn Tavenner was voted in as yesterday as the first permanent CMS Administrator since 2006. Tavenner was appointed to serve as Acting Administrator in December of 2011 when Dr. Donald Berwick stepped down. The 91-7 Senate vote reflects the bipartisan support for Tavenner.
The only glitch in Tavenner’s journey her Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on April 23rd was the halt Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) put on the nomination one day later. Harkin had halted the process saying at a budget hearing “he wants answers on why funding for wellness is to be cut from the federal budget.” On May 7, Harkin lifted his hold, clearing the way for yesterday’s full Senate vote.
Tavenner is a nurse who spent 25 years working for HCA. She also served four years as the secretary of Health and Human Resources in Virginia in the administration of then Gov. Tim Kaine, now a Senator for the state.