What’s Happening with Seniors Benefits

by Art Kelly

1.  President Obama has nominated Marilyn Tavenner, a nurse and the principal deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to be the new administrator, replacing Dr. Donald Berwick, who resigned.

Berwick, a longtime advocate for rationing medical care, was serving as CMS administrator under a "recess appointment" that was made in July 2010 while the Senate was not in session, which allowed him to serve without confirmation until the end of 2011.

The New York Times reported that Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) said, "Dr. Berwick came in under a cloud, and he is leaving under the same cloud, because of the way the president appointed him. It was a disservice to Dr. Berwick and to the American people for the president to make a recess appointment, rather than requiring Dr. Berwick to come before Congress to explain his opinions on Medicare, Medicaid, and the new health care law."

While at CMS, Berwick issued frequent news releases praising Obamacare, but was under such close scrutiny, he may not have been able to implement the rationing of health care that he wanted to achieve.

"Scrutiny of Tavenner should be no less intense than of Berwick," Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, stated in a news release.

The Washington Post noted that Tavenner has served at CMS since April 2010.  The American Thinker reported that in August 2010, she chastised critics of Obamacare for "stoking fears" and targeting seniors with "misinformation."

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Tavenner was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's administration.  HealthLeaders Media quoted State Senator Edd Houck (D-Fredericksburg), who said that, while Tavenner served under a Democratic governor, she worked well with Republicans in the Legislature.

Prior to that, Tavenner worked for the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), founded by the father of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).

The Huffington Post reported that Tavenner's nomination has the support of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who said she is "eminently qualified" to run Medicare.  According to Politico, she has contributed in the past to Cantor's campaign.

Cantor met Tavenner years ago when he was a Virginia state legislator and she worked for HCA.  He said, "She was an individual with a wealth of knowledge about the complexities of the health care system, and she came forward with solutions that actually made sense."

The Congressman cautioned, "Obviously, she'll be working for a president with an agenda that's quite different from mine."

Nevertheless, the American Thinker stated that people who know Tavenner characterize her as "a pragmatic moderate," a "skilled operator," and "a person who makes things work and has patients at heart."

The publication added, "Her down-home, non-elitist background contrasts nicely with most of Obama's nominees."

2.  When liberal Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced he would not run for re-election, he quickly followed that up by co-sponsoring legislation to repeal Obamacare's Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which will ration medical care for seniors and the disabled.

The Daily Caller said Frank became the 212th member of the House, and the 12th Democrat, to cosponsor HR 452, the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act, by Congressman David Roe (R-TN), to repeal the IPAB in Obamacare.

It is not clear why Frank did not run for re-election, but it is possible that, as the ranking Democrat and the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, he was under pressure to support President Obama and Nancy Pelosi on all matters. 

By announcing he would not run again, Frank may have freed himself to pursue more independent courses of action.

The June 23 issue of this newsletter reported that former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt is also strongly supporting efforts to repeal IPAB.  Gephardt harshly criticized this fundamental part of Obamacare in language that was almost identical to what conservatives said throughout 2009 and 2010.

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