House Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson (CT) released the following statement on the resignation of Dr. Donald Berwick as Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“While I am saddened that Dr. Berwick will not be continuing his exceptional work as Administrator of CMS, I know that he will continue his decades-long fight to improve the quality of care for patients.
“We should all feel a great deal of pride that a native of Connecticut has risen to become one of the nation’s, and world, leaders in transforming health care. Under his guidance at CMS, he set in motion key elements of our health care reform legislation that will profoundly change the way that health care is delivered and did so with an unyielding focus on improving outcomes for patients.
“His triple aim: better care, better health, lower costs; should continue to guide us both as policymakers and citizens. I look forward to working with him on many future initiatives as we continue to find ways to provide affordable, quality, access to health care for every American.”
The official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid for the last 17 months says that 20 percent to 30 percent of health spending is “waste” that yields no benefit to patients, and that some of the needless spending is a result of onerous, archaic regulations enforced by his agency.
Last Friday was Donald Berwick’s last day as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Berwick, a 65-year-old senior citizen, a pediatrician, Harvard professor and well-known quality improvement expert, has served since July 2010.
Source: The Democratic Caucus, USA