On Thursday, CMS Acting Administrator Charlene Frizzera announced some personnel changes "that will position the agency to successfully implement the important initiatives and priorities outlined over the past few months by the president," she said in a memo. Among the changes:
Jonathan Blum, a former Senate Finance Committee staffer and Avalere analyst, has been named the new director of CMS' Center for Medicare Management. Blum worked with Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., during development of the Medicare Modernization Act. He also served as a program examiner for the Office of Management and Budget focusing on Medicare and was a health policy advisor to the Obama-Biden transition team.
Amy Hall, another former Capitol Hill staffer, has been named director of the agency's Office of Legislation. In her new capacity, Hall will develop the legislative agenda for the entire scope of CMS' programs and will be the direct liaison between CMS, HHS and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Hall has worked for the House in various capacities and is a former staff member to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich. According to Frizzera's memo, she was instrumental on all major health care financing legislation passed by the House during the last 10 years involving Medicaid, Medicare and SCHIP.