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Seema Verma
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
In office
March 14, 2017 – January 20, 2021[1]
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMarilyn Tavenner
Succeeded byChiquita Brooks-LaSure
Personal details
Born (1970-09-26) September 26, 1970 (age 54)
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSanja Mishra
Children2
ResidenceCarmel, Indiana
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BS)
Johns Hopkins University
(MPH)

Seema Verma (born September 26, 1970)[2] is a an American health policy expert and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Her tenure as CMS administrator was the longest in modern history, and she oversaw more than 6,000 employees providing health insurance programs to more than 140 million Americans. She was responsible for a budget of $1.3 trillion, almost a third of the federal budget.[3] She currently gives speeches, writes articles, and serves on several boards.[4]

Early life

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Born in Virginia, Verma was a first-generation American. She and her family moved several times, living in small towns such as Joplin, Missouri, and larger cities such as the Washington D.C. area. She also lived in Taiwan for five years while growing up. In 1988, she graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland.[5] Verma's father, Jupal Verma, said his daughter "grew up in a Democratic household.”[6][4]

She received a bachelor's degree in life sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1993. She earned a Master of Public Health, with a concentration in health policy and management, from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1996.[7]

Career

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Early career

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After college, Seema worked at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials in Washington, D.C.[8]Shen then served as vice president of the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County,[9]

In 2001, she founded SVC, Inc., a health policy consulting firm. She was president and CEO of the company, which worked with state insurance agencies and public health agencies in preparation for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and assisted Indiana and Kentucky, as well as other states, in the design of Medicaid expansion programs under the ACA.[8] In her work with Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, she developed Medicaid reform programs under the Section 1115 waiver process.[10][11] In 2014, she was criticized for her dual roles as both a health care consultant for the state of Indiana and as a contractor for a division within Hewlett Packard, which was among the state’s largest Medicaid vendors. Verma said at the time: “SVC has disclosed to both HP and the state the relationship with the other to be transparent.” [12][13]

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

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Verma speaks on the coronavirus pandemic from the White House press briefing room on April 19, 2020

On November 29, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Verma to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, and the insurance markets.[14] On March 13, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination in a 55–43 vote.[15] She was sworn into office on the Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is, a translation and commentary of the Bhagavad Gita by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement.[16][17][18]

Affordable Care Act

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Verma was a critic of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), calling it a "failure."[19][20][21][22] Throughout her tenure at CMS, she led President Trump's charge to repeal and replace Obamacare.[23][24]

One of her first actions was to send a letter to the nation's governors, urging them to impose insurance premiums for Medicaid, charge Medicaid recipients for emergency room visits, and encourage recipients to obtain employment or job training as a requirement for Medicaid coverage.[25][26] Verma made substantial cuts to the ACA Navigator program, making it more difficult for individuals to obtain coverage during open enrollment.[27][28] On July 25, 2018, Verma gave a speech[29] in San Francisco in which she criticized proposals for "Medicare for all". She stated that single-payer health care would destroy Medicare, which provides insurance for elderly people, and lead to "Medicare for None."[30]

Accomplishments

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During her time as administrator, Verma developed and implemented a new CMS strategic vision, which led to more than 16 initiatives designed to bolster the American health care system by lowering costs, increasing access and improving quality. She also ignited efforts by the federal government to increase market competition, empower patients, and unleash innovation producing historic reforms.[31] Verma claimed to have driven efforts to require price and quality transparency while ensuring patients have ownership over their portable medical records.

She instituted an initiative called ‘’Patients Over Paperwork’’, which was designed to reduce regulatory burden and save the health care system billions of dollars.[32]

Verma also worked to accelerate value-based care transformation and address the social determinants of health by advancing new payment models throughout CMS programs, including models for drug pricing that resulted in lower insulin prices. Under her leadership, premiums dropped in Medicare Advantage, Part D, and the insurance exchanges.[33]

One of her priorities was to make it possible for states to implement work requirements for Medicaid.[34] The Biden administration sought to reverse those moves.[34]

Coronavirus Task Force

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On March 2, 2020, Vice President Mike Pence announced Verma's addition to the White House Coronavirus Task Force.[35][36] There, she led efforts to drive telehealth and remote care across the health care system while creating flexibility for health providers to augment the health care workforce, expand services and testing, and ensure access to vaccines and therapeutic treatments.[3]

Criticisms

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While head of CMS, on August 20, 2018, Verma filed a claim requesting that taxpayers reimburse her for jewelry she alleged was stolen on a work-related trip to San Francisco. Although she requested $47,000, including a $325 claim for moisturizer, $349 for noise-cancelling headphones,[37] and a $5,900 Ivanka Trump-brand gold and diamond pendant worn during meetings with President Trump, she ultimately received $2,852.40 in reimbursement.[30] Democratic Representative Joe Kennedy III called on Verma to resign immediately, calling her actions a taxpayer "bailout for stolen goods she chose not to insure".[38]

In March 2019, Verma reportedly approved communications subcontracts worth more than $2 million of taxpayer funds to Republican-connected communications consultants and other expenses to boost her visibility and public image, leading to federal ethics and criminal investigations. Included in the consultants' work were proposals to have Verma featured in magazines like Glamour and have her invited to prestigious events to increase her public persona.[39][40] Verma made an effort to purchase awards and honors for herself using taxpayer dollars.[41] In July 2020, the HHS Inspector General reported that Verma spent more than $5 million in taxpayer funds to do communications work, and to help raise her profile. The report, a result of a 15-month investigation, concluded that Verma violated federal contracting rules: "CMS improperly administered the contracts and created improper employer-employee relationships between CMS and the contractors".[42][43][44]

Press reports indicated Verma frequently clashed with her leadership, including HHS Secretary Tom Price and his successor Alex Azar, and her staff over a variety of issues.[45][46][47][48][46][49][50] At one point, she reportedly threatened to ban a reporter after a negative story was published.[51][52][53]

In the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, she pushed Medicare career civil servant officials to finalize a plan to issue $200, branded with Trump's name, for Medicare recipients to use on drugs.[54] The taxpayer-funded plan was estimated to cost $7.9 billion and draw from Medicare's trust fund.[54]

In September 2020, Democrats on four congressional committees concluded that "Congress did not intend for taxpayer dollars to be spent on handpicked communications consultants used to promote Administrator Verma's public profile and personal brand. Administrator Verma has shown reckless disregard for the public's trust. We believe she should personally reimburse the taxpayers for these inappropriate expenditures."[41] The panel concluded that she "may have violated federal law," leading Congress to request a formal legal opinion from the Government Accountability Office.[55][56]

Verma spent more than $3.5 million on Republican Party-aligned consultants to promote her. These consultants were paid to help her write tweets and speeches, polish her profile, and broker meetings with companies and high-profile individual, including other members of government. Verma spent nearly $3,000 in taxpayer dollars on consulting fees for organizing a "Girl's Night" party thrown in her honor,[41] hundreds of dollars for makeup artists, as well as $13,000 to promote herself to win awards and appear on panels.[41] Verma's consultants aimed to place her on profile-enhancing lists, such as the Washingtonian's "Most Powerful Women in Washington" list, targeted media outlets for Verma with no clear connection to CMS initiatives (such as "Badass Women of DC"), and generated ideas for potential social events for Verma to attend, such as the Ford's Theatre Gala, Kennedy Center Honors, and Motion Picture Association events.[57][58] The consultants provided her with talking points on repealing the Affordable Care Act in 2017, and helped her write a 2018 opinion column under her name in the Washington Post arguing for Medicaid work requirements.[44] Verma was often accompanied by consultants as part of her travel entourage, billing CMS up to $380 per hour.[59] She also used consultants as drivers at a rate up to $203 per hour and hotel rooms for official travel that cost more than $500 per night, hundreds of dollars above the government per diem rate.[55][60][61]

These consultants, including one who was awaiting sentencing on a felony conviction for lying to Congress about misuse of taxpayer funds, led communications efforts on major policy initiatives and rollouts. CMS leadership provided them with access to sensitive information on proposed rule-makings, internal plans for anticipated policy roll-outs, and other potentially non-public, market-sensitive information.[55][60][62][63] One of the outside consultants that Verma paid was Marcus Barlow, who had been her spokesperson at her former consulting firm SVC.[64] He worked on three separate contracts for CMS, earning between $209–$230 an hour.[64] According to the New York Times, this worked out to more than double the salary he would have received as a federal employee.[64] As late as December 2020 during Verma's tenure, Barlow accompanied Verma and other CMS officials to an official function at the White House.[59][65]

An HHS spokesperson referred to the Congressional report as “just another reckless, politically timed, drive-by hit job on a reform-driven Trump Administration official and, by extension, on President Trump himself.”[63]

In 2021, Verma said she lost her CMS-issued cellphone two days before President Biden's inauguration, resulting in the elimination of all of its stored records. Verma then failed to complete the standard form explaining how she lost her phone, court records state. Verma was issued a new iPhone on January 18, which she returned nine days later. Records from that phone cannot be accessed because the phone was locked and Verma said she had forgotten her passcode.[66]

Transition

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In the final days of her tenure at CMS, Verma said she was committed to a smooth transition to the Biden administration and to ensuring continued response to Covid19. Following the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, she said she was “repulsed” over how some were treating Vice President Pence, and called the attack “disturbing” and “very hard to watch.”[33] She formally submitted her resignation on January 13, effective on January 20, 2021[67][68]

Current work

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Verma currently serves on several boards, either as an advisor or director, and is a frequent speaker at health policy and health care delivery events.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

  • Lumeris, an analytical firm which provides guidance to health care delivery entities seeking to provide value-based care;[69]
  • LifeStance, a virtual mental health platform;[70][71]
  • Monogram Health, a healthcare provider that focuses on kidney disease;[72] and
  • Zemplee, which provides health care software and services.[73]

She also serves on the advisory board for Advancing American Freedom, former Vice President Mike Pence's conservative advocacy group,[74] and is a senior advisor to TPG Capital, a U.S. private equity firm.[75]

Personal life

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Verma is married to Sanja Mishra, a child psychiatrist who has origins from Patna, Bihar. She and her husband live in Carmel, Indiana, and they have two children, a daughter and a son.[76]

References

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  1. ^ Lagasse, Jeff. "Elizabeth Richter named interim head of CMS as Biden transitions to new era". Healthcare Finance. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "- NOMINATION OF SEEMA VERMA, TO BE. Administrator, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES". congress.gov.
  3. ^ a b "Seema Verma Biography" (PDF). Advise Insurance website. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Seema Verma: A Carmel Resident in Charge of American Health Care". Carmel Monthly Magazine. Carmel, Indiana. August 30, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "Eleanor Roosevelt High School class of 1988". Old Friends. Greenbelt, Maryland. 1988. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  6. ^ Clark, Sara (March 15, 2017). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Seema Verma". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  7. ^ "Donald Trump meets with Dr. [sic] Seema Verma, who may help in restructuring Obamacare". The American Bazaar. November 22, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Pradhan, Rachana (November 29, 2016). "Trump picks Seema Verma to head Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services". Politico.
  9. ^ Cook, Tony (August 26, 2014). "Seema Verma, powerful state health-care consultant, serves two bosses". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016.
  10. ^ Newkirk, II, Vann R. (February 17, 2017). "Seema Verma's Austere Vision for Medicaid". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  11. ^ Glenza, Jessica (December 4, 2016). "Trump's pick for key health post known for punitive Medicaid plan". The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  12. ^ Cook, Tony (December 12, 2014). "5 loopholes in Indiana's ethics laws". The Indianapolis Star.
  13. ^ Slodysko, Brian; Johnson, Carla K. "Pick for Medicare post faces questions on Indiana contracts". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  14. ^ Sanger-Katz, Margot (December 1, 2016). "A Trump Pick, and Why Indiana's Strict Medicaid Rules Could Spread". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "On the Nomination PN49: Seema Verma, of Indiana, to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services". GovTrack. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "Pictures Around The World | Seema Verma taking oath on the Bhagavad-Gita, wildfires in Texas, and more". www.dnaindia.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Reporter, India-West Staff. "Seema Verma Places Hand on Gita During Swearing-in to Top Healthcare Post". India West. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Indian-American puts her hand on Bhagavad-Gita during swearing-in as chief of CMS | News - Times of India Videos". The Times of India. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  19. ^ Page, Susan. "Medicaid chief Seema Verma blames Obamacare's collapse on its founders". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "https://twitter.com/seemacms/status/1172589661753159680". Twitter. Retrieved June 19, 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  21. ^ "Remarks by Administrator Seema Verma at the America's Health Insurance Plan's (AHIP) 2019 National Conference on Medicare | CMS". www.cms.gov. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  22. ^ "Seema Verma's bold initiatives land her in No. 1 Most Influential spot". Modern Healthcare. December 6, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Verma Says Administration Is 'Working On' Plan To Replace Obamacare". Kaiser Health News. August 16, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  24. ^ Page, Susan. "Medicaid chief Seema Verma blames Obamacare's collapse on its founders". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  25. ^ Goldstein, Amy (March 15, 2017). "On first day in office, new Medicaid chief urges states to charge premiums, prod recipients to get jobs". The Washington Post.
  26. ^ Fadulu, Lola (April 12, 2019). "Why States Want Certain Americans to Work for Medicaid". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  27. ^ "Seema Verma defends cuts to ACA Navigator program, commitment to states' 'flexibility'". FierceHealthcare. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Leonard, Kimberly. "Seema Verma says she has "no regrets" about her healthcare tenure in the Trump administration even after much backlash". Business Insider. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  29. ^ MEDICARE AND MEDICAID ADMINISTRATOR SEEMA VERMA, YouTube, July 25, 2018, retrieved December 8, 2019
  30. ^ a b Diamond, Dan. "Medicare chief asked taxpayers to cover stolen jewelry". POLITICO. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  31. ^ "Remarks by Administrator Seema Verma at the Patients Over Paperwork Anniversary Event: "Patients Over Paperwork: A Journey Forward"". CMS/gov Newsroom. October 29, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  32. ^ "Remarks by Administrator Seema Verma at the Patients Over Paperwork Anniversary Event: "Patients Over Paperwork: A Journey Forward"". CMS/gov Newsroom. October 29, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  33. ^ a b "Resigning from Trump administration would be 'a dereliction of duty' amid Covid pandemic, Medicare chief Verma says". CNBC. January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  34. ^ a b Kliff, Sarah; Sanger-Katz, Margot (February 12, 2021). "Biden Administration Moves to End Work Requirements in Medicaid". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  35. ^ Lejeune, Tristan (March 2, 2020). "White House adds VA secretary, CMS chief to coronavirus task force". TheHill. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  36. ^ "Indian-American Seema Verma appointed as key member of US government's coronavirus task force". The New Indian Express. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  37. ^ Mark, Michelle. "A top Trump health appointee reportedly tried to get taxpayers to reimburse her for $47,000 in jewelry that got stolen from a rented SUV". Business Insider. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  38. ^ Cummings, William. "Rep. Kennedy calls on Trump health care administrator to resign over $47,000 stolen property claim". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  39. ^ Cancryn, Adam; Diamon, Dan (March 29, 2019). "Exclusive: Key Trump health official spends millions on GOP-connected consultants". Politico.
  40. ^ Diamond, Dan; Cancryn, Adam (November 20, 2019). "Contractor proposed Glamour magazine profile for Medicaid chief". Politico.
  41. ^ a b c d Diamond, Dan; Cancryn, Adam. "$2,933 for 'Girl's Night': Medicaid chief's consulting expenses revealed". Politico. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  42. ^ Abutaleb, Yasmeen (July 17, 2020). "Top health official violated federal contracting rules, HHS inspector general finds". Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  43. ^ Diamond, Dan; Cancryn, Adam (July 16, 2020). "Inspector general: Medicare chief broke rules on her publicity contracts". POLITICO. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  44. ^ a b "$2,933 for 'Girl's Night': Medicaid chief's consulting expenses revealed". POLITICO. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  45. ^ "Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda". Politico.
  46. ^ a b Swan, Jonathan; Owens, Caitlin. "Tensions among top Trump health officials led to outside probe". Axios. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  47. ^ "Azar, Verma battle for Trump's favor amid White House showdown". POLITICO. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  48. ^ "Medicare chief sought to bring complaints against previous boss, as well". Politico.
  49. ^ "Azar, Verma battle for Trump's favor amid White House showdown". POLITICO. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  50. ^ "Pence ally Brian Neale exiting CMS Medicaid post". Modern Healthcare. January 23, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  51. ^ Savransky, Rebecca (February 5, 2018). "Reporter says he was threatened with ban from press calls after declining to alter story: report". TheHill. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  52. ^ "Investigation of Medicare Chief Exposes Underside of Washington (Published 2020)". September 10, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  53. ^ Freyer, Felice J. (February 6, 2018). "CMS threatens to bar Modern Healthcare from press calls after reporter refuses to alter story". Association of Health Care Journalists. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  54. ^ a b Diamond, Dan. "Health officials scrambling to produce Trump's 'last-minute' drug cards by Election Day". POLITICO. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  55. ^ a b c "Democratic Committee Leaders Release Report Detailing Abuse of Taxpayer Funds by Top Trump Administration Official". House Committee on Oversight and Reform. September 10, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  56. ^ "Democratic Committee Leaders Release Report Detailing Abuse of Taxpayer Funds by Top Trump Administration Official Charged with Overseeing Federal Health Care Programs". Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee. September 10, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  57. ^ "Democratic Committee Leaders Release Report Detailing Abuse of Taxpayer Funds by Top Trump Administration Official". House Committee on Oversight and Reform. September 10, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  58. ^ "Top Trump health official spent $3 million on contractors who helped boost her visibility". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  59. ^ a b www.politico.com https://www.politico.com/_preview?_cms.db.previewId=00000176-744b-d0c3-ab77-7ddbfd7b0000&_date=. Retrieved May 20, 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  60. ^ a b "$2,933 for 'Girl's Night': Medicaid chief's consulting expenses revealed". POLITICO. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  61. ^ "Democrats find taxpayers footed bill for several events to help raise profile of Trump's Medicaid chief". Washington Examiner. September 10, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  62. ^ Raman, Sandhya. "Trump health official Seema Verma spent millions of taxpayer funds to polish her image, report finds". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  63. ^ a b "Medicare administrator Verma said to have paid private consultants nearly $6 million in taxpayer money for personal image-building campaign". MarketWatch. Associated Press. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  64. ^ a b c Williamson, Elizabeth (September 10, 2020). "Investigation of Medicare Chief Exposes Underside of Washington". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  65. ^ Cancryn, Adam; Diamond, Dan. "Moderna's vaccine is on the way". POLITICO. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  66. ^ Cancryn, Adam; Owermohle, Sarah. "Emergent faces congressional grilling". POLITICO. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  67. ^ "Indian-American Seema Verma Quits Donald Trump's Administration". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  68. ^ "Indian-American Seema Verma resigns as CMS administrator". The Economic Times. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  69. ^ "Seema Verma, MPH". Lumeris.com. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  70. ^ "LifeStance Health Appoints Seema Verma To Its Board Of Directors". PRNewswire. August 24, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  71. ^ "Former CMS head Seema Verma joins virtual mental health platform". Becker’s Hospital Review. August 24, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  72. ^ "Monogram Health Appoints Former CMS Administrator Seema Verma to Board of Directors". Monogram Health. April 12, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  73. ^ "Former CMS Administrator Seema Verma Joins Zemplee Board of Directors". Businesswire. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  74. ^ "Advancing American Freedom (About)". Advancing American Freedom. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  75. ^ "Former CMS Administrator Seema Verma Joins WellSky Board of Directors". WellSky.com. September 21, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  76. ^ Cite error: The named reference 10 Things” was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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Political offices
Preceded by Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
2017–2021 		Succeeded by


Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American businesswomen of Indian descent Category:American health care chief executives Category:American politicians of Indian descent Category:American public health doctors Category:American women chief executives Category:Indiana Republicans Category:Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Category:People from Indiana Category:Trump administration personnel Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services officials Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni Category:21st-century American women

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