[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 43 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1755-S1756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Seema 
Verma, of Indiana, to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in favor of the 
nomination of Seema Verma to serve as the Administrator of the Centers 
for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
  I think we can all agree that this is a critical time for healthcare 
in America. Health costs continue to rise, and patients face growing 
uncertainty over coverage. At the same time, the health of too many 
Americans continues to decline, healthcare costs continue to grow, and 
millions of new baby boomers are becoming eligible for Medicare each 
and every year.
  I might add, you heard the minority leader talk today as if Democrats 
have had nothing to do with all of this mess. Much to the contrary. 
Congress and our new President face intense pressure to address these 
challenges, and the stakes are very high. I am confident that Ms. Verma 
is up for that challenge. She has over two decades of experience 
working with State healthcare and industry leaders to reform and 
improve services for the most vulnerable members of our community. Ms. 
Verma's experience as an entrepreneur and industry leader allowed her 
to work extensively on a wide variety of policy and strategic projects 
involving Medicaid, insurance, and public health in conjunction with 
the Indiana Governor's office, State Medicaid agencies, State health 
departments, State departments of insurance, the Federal Government, 
and private companies and foundations. She has had a tremendous amount 
of experience in those areas, and I have every confidence that she will 
be a great leader. There are few professionals in the country who have 
her level of close relationships with State leaders that will be 
critical as Congress and the administration work to repeal and replace 
the Affordable Care Act--the so-called Affordable Care Act; it is 
anything but affordable.
  Medicaid represents an enormous burden on State budgets, and we now 
have an unprecedented opportunity to reform a Federal entitlement 
program long in need of structural changes. Ms. Verma is the ideal 
candidate to oversee the reform of the Medicaid Program and take steps 
administratively to give States the flexibility they have been 
clamoring for.
  In Indiana, Ms. Verma worked with Governors Daniels and Pence to 
design a Medicaid expansion program that extended health coverage to 
nearly

[[Page S1756]]

400,000 low-income working Americans. She did so in a way that 
empowered people to take greater responsibility for their own health by 
providing incentives to use healthcare resources efficiently. The 
program ensured that many people got health care coverage for the first 
time. Now this innovative program has become a national model for other 
States.
  Ms. Verma's experience will be invaluable as we work together to 
improve healthcare across the country and bring down the costs thereof. 
In addition to her work in Indiana, Ms. Verma has developed several 
other Medicaid reform programs, including 1,115 Medicaid waivers for 
Iowa, Ohio, and Kentucky. Her firm helped design Tennessee's coverage 
expansion proposal and also provided technical assistance to Michigan 
when the State implemented its Medicaid waiver. She also helped guide 
the transition of Iowa's Medicaid Program to a managed care program and 
supported strategy efforts for Maine's Medicaid plan.
  Having dealt with CMS in her capacity as a consultant working on 
these myriad projects, she knows firsthand what is needed to make the 
programs work effectively. Her job as CMS Administrator will not be 
easy, and that is a heck of an understatement.
  CMS is the world's largest health insurer. It has a budget of over $1 
trillion and processes over 1.2 billion claims a year for services 
provided to some of our Nation's most vulnerable citizens receiving 
Medicare and Medicaid. As such, this is a critical agency, and we need 
a qualified, dedicated leader at the helm. She is certainly that.
  In addition to ensuring that Medicare and Medicaid work effectively, 
Ms. Verma will also be charged with helping to ensure the longevity and 
solvency of the Medicare trust fund, which is projected to go bankrupt 
in the year 2028. Maintaining the solvency of the Medicare Program 
while continuing to provide care for an ever-increasing beneficiary 
base is going to require creative solutions, skillful administration, 
and a lot of knowledge and experience.

  All told, between now and 2030, 76 million baby boomers will become 
eligible for Medicare. Even factoring in deaths over that period, the 
program will grow from approximately 47 million beneficiaries today to 
roughly 80 million beneficiaries in 2030. This will also create 
challenges that will require steady leadership and, at times, decisive 
action.
  I believe Ms. Verma is especially qualified to lead CMS and modernize 
its programs to increase its effectiveness of healthcare delivery. She 
brings the experience and, importantly, bipartisan solutions that can 
and should unite people across the political spectrum in addressing 
some of the greatest challenges in our healthcare system.
  Ms. Verma has a keen understanding of patients' needs. She certainly 
has the expertise to create a healthcare law that this country needs 
and improve the lives of the 100 million Americans covered by Medicare 
and Medicaid.
  At a time when the healthcare challenges we face are very real and 
extremely complex, our Nation needs leaders, like Ms. Verma, who have 
demonstrated their ability to deliver results.
  I know that many people have different ideas about the best direction 
for the Medicare and Medicaid Programs and how we should meet the 
complex challenges facing CMS. While we can disagree on policy, we 
should all agree that the agency needs smart, experienced leadership at 
its helm.
  That being the case, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in 
supporting Ms. Verma's nomination to this important position. I 
personally am very grateful that she is willing to dive into this very 
difficult process and these problems right in the middle of politics 
being played and that she is willing to do the job America needs at 
this particular time, especially for those who need healthcare.
  With that, Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.