President Obama on July 7 announced the recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to be the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), bypassing what looked like a lengthy fight to have the nominee confirmed by the Senate.
In making the appointment, the President said in a statement, “It’s unfortunate that, at a time when our nation is facing enormous challenges, many in Congress have decided to delay critical nominations for political purposes.”
The White House announced President Obama’s intention to make the recess appointment on its blog on July 6. White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer wrote that the move was necessary because, “Many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.”
Dr. Berwick, a pediatrician who is a nationally known leader in health care quality, is supported by many health care and consumer groups, Mr. Pfeiffer noted. Dr. Berwick is president and CEO of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) and others leaped to support Dr. Berwick.
“Don has dedicated his career to engaging hospitals, doctors, nurses and other health care providers to improve patient care,” AHA President Rich Umbdenstock said in a statement. “A physician and innovator in health care quality, his knowledge of the health care system makes him the right choice.”
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) also issued a statement, chiding Republicans for their “lockstep stalling” of Dr. Berwick’s nomination, and praising him for his assistance in overhauling the Massachusetts health care system.
“He’s first rate all the way, and throughout Massachusetts’ landmark health reform, Don was there, helping lead our state to the highest rate of health care coverage in the nation,” according to Sen. Kerry.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), however, was scathing in his reaction to the appointment, calling Dr. Berwick “one of the most prominent advocates of rationed health care.”
“Democrats haven’t scheduled so much as a committee hearing for Donald Berwick but the mere possibility of allowing the American people the opportunity to hear what he intends to do with their health care is evidently reason enough for this Administration to sneak him through without public scrutiny,” Sen. McConnell said in a statement.
Under the Constitution, the President nominates individuals to serve in high-level government positions; those individuals must then be confirmed by the Senate. However, the Constitution also allows the President to make such appointments without Senate confirmation if Congress is in recess, as it currently is for the Independence Day holiday.
While the purpose of a recess appointment is to ensure the continuity of the government, over the years, such appointments have been used to evade political battles
Until Dr. Berwick’s appointment, CMS was without a permanent administrator since 2006.