Marilyn Tavenner, one of the the top Obama administration officials tasked with implementing the Affordable Care Act, is leaving her post after Februay.
“It is with sadness and mixed emotions that I write to tell you that February will be my last month serving as the Administrator for (the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services),” Tavenner said in an email to colleagues on Friday, which was obtained by TPM. Her departure was first reported by the Huffington Post’s Jonathan Cohn and Jeffrey Young.
CMS has been the primary agency responsible for overseeing the major coverage expansions of Obamacare, the private insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion. Tavenner headed CMS through the difficult launch of the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, as well as its subsequent turnaround and the enrollment of 8 million people in the law’s first year.
She also appeared frequently before Congress, and was subjected to grilling from Republicans unhappy with the law and its rollout.
“Now in our second enrollment period we have much to be proud of; we came together and faced the challenges and are now providing millions of people with access to an affordable, high quality — and in some cases a lifesaving — healthcare plan,” Tavenner said in her email to CMS employees.
Andrew Slavitt, the No. 2 at CMS, will serve as acting administrator, the Huffington Post reported.
Can we please stop calling it Obamacare?