Herb Kuhn Appointed to MedPAC

WASHINGTON — The influential Medicare Payment Advisory
Commission has appointed two new members, including Herb Kuhn,
former deputy administrator of CMS.

Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro announced Kuhn’s
appointment May 8, along with that of Robert A. Berenson, a senior
fellow at the Urban
Institute. The Comptroller General is responsible for naming
new members to the commission, an independent 17-member federal
body that advises Congress on Medicare issues.

An independent health care consultant, Kuhn was CMS deputy
administrator under President George W. Bush until earlier this
year, and served as director of the Center for Medicare Management
at CMS from 2004 to 2006. He will complete the remaining year of
former MedPAC member Jack Ebeler’s three-year term, which began in
2007. Ebeler resigned in March.

Speaking at the American Association for Homecare’s Legislative
Conference in 2007, Kuhn, then at CMS, said the agency was looking
for value in the dollars it spends. That meant focusing on
prevention, pay for reporting, pay for performance, transparency,
cost-effectiveness — “and yes, it also means competitive
bidding,” he told attendees.

Berenson was director of the Center for Health Plans and
Providers with CMS’ predecessor, the Health Care Financing
Administration, during the Clinton administration. He was appointed
to a three-year term that runs through 2012.