Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

With New Healthcare Federal Officials Confirmed, Health IT Leaders Ponder Their Agendas

Healthcare Informatics: Now that key leaders at two major federal healthcare agencies have been confirmed to their posts—Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, and John Fleming, M.D., deputy assistant secretary for health technology (a new position created at HHS)—various health IT leaders have turned their attention to working with the departments on their core priorities for the industry. And while healthcare trade association groups have done just that in recent days, they are still very much in wait-and-see mode as Price, Verma and Fleming settle into their new leadership roles.

Certainly, the new federal officials have a lot on their plates and will need time to get up-to-speed and briefed; Verma, for one, was confirmed just two weeks ago, and Fleming just days ago. Also, the recent focus of President Trump, from a healthcare standpoint, had been on the attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but now it seems that with the recent developments on Capitol Hill, the administration will be moving onto other priorities.

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