The Obama administration has now announced the creation of a new position to oversee the federal exchange.
Among the latest pieces of insurance news to be released regarding the health care reform is the creation of a new chief executive position by the Obama administration which will be responsible for overseeing the federal health plan exchange where residents of 36 states purchase their coverage.
This health care reform announcement was made as one of a series of management changes.
The insurance news announcement was made by Sylvia Burwell, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. She not only revealed that the new CEO position would be created for overseeing the exchange, but that there would also be a new permanent chief technology officer for that federal marketplace, as well. This is meant to help to ensure that the HealthCare.gov site, which crashed upon its launch, last October, will be much more effectively and efficiently maintained.
The insurance news continued with new federal hiring on behalf of Obamacare.
For example, a position of principal deputy administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was hired. This position was granted to Andy Slavitt, who is the executive vice president of Optum. The purpose of that job will be to focus directly on the operations of the marketplace. He now has authority for coordination and policy between these programs of the agency.
This round of hiring and changes in management was a swift and decisive move by the administration, which is working to overcome the struggles in the oversight of the health care reform and the federal exchange, which produced weaknesses that lead to last year’s website considerable and lengthy crash.
According to Burwell’s insurance news making statement, which was made only two weeks after the U.S. Senate confirmed her own job, “These actions will bolster our team and further instill ongoing accountability for reaching milestones, measuring results and delivering results for the American people.” Officials from the administration have said that these changes in management are a part of a broader effort to draw the best talent to the Department of Health and Human Services.
