Seema Verma (born September 26, 1970)[2] is an American healthcare executive who is currently a general manager and executive vice president at Oracle Corporation. She was administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the first Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2025.
Seema Verma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 15th Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services | |
| In office March 14, 2017 – January 20, 2021[1] | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Marilyn Tavenner |
| Succeeded by | Chiquita Brooks-LaSure |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 26, 1970 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park (BS) Johns Hopkins University (MPH) |
Early life and education
editBorn in Virginia, Verma was a first-generation Indian 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.[3] In 1988, she graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland.[4] Verma's father, Jugal Verma, said his daughter "grew up in a Democratic household."[5]
Verma 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.[6]
Career
editEarly career
editVerma was vice president of the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County,[7] and worked at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials in Washington, D.C.[8]
SVC, Inc.
editVerma founded health policy consulting firm SVC, Inc. in June 2001. She was president and CEO of the company, which worked with state insurance and public health agencies for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. SVC also assisted Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Kentucky, as well as other states, in the design of Medicaid expansion programs under the ACA.[8][9]
In 2006, Verma's team began pitching policies which would "provide government-funded health insurance to the working poor." She approached Gov. Mitch Daniels with a Medicaid alternative, featuring health savings accounts that required participants to contribute monthly, even if only a few dollars.[10] This proposal eventually became the Healthy Indiana Plan, which expanded coverage options to low-income individuals with employer-sponsored healthcare coverage.[9]
In her work with Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, she developed Medicaid reform programs under the Section 1115 waiver process.[11][12]
In 2014, ethics concerns were raised over a potential conflict of interest arising from Verma's dual roles as both a health care consultant for the State of Indiana and as an employee of a Hewlett-Packard division that is among Indiana's largest Medicaid vendors.[7] SVC, Inc. had been awarded over $6.6 million in contracts from the State of Indiana, while Verma was concurrently employed with Hewlett-Packard, earning her over $1 million during a period when the company had secured $500 million in State of Indiana contracts.[13][14] In 2016, her firm collected $316,000 for work done for the State of Kentucky as a subcontractor for Hewlett-Packard, according to documents obtained by the AP through public records requests.[14][15] Richard Painter, former President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer, called Verma's arrangement a "conflict of interest" that "clearly should not happen and is definitely improper."[14] Ethics experts noted this conflicted with her public duties.[14]
Trump administration
edit
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, the agency that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, and the insurance markets.[16] On March 13, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination in a 55–43 vote.[17]
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.[18][19] She was supportive of President Trump signing into law legislation that permitted states to withhold federal funds from facilities that provide abortions.[20]
Vermas has been a critic of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and referred to it as a "failed government program."[21] Throughout her tenure at CMS, she advocated for a series of policy changes to reform the ACA and the healthcare system.
In 2017, Verma and the CMS launched the "Patients Over Paperwork" initiative, a program aimed at reducing administrative burden on physicians.[22] In 2018, Verma oversaw a $26 million cut to the Affordable Care Act Navigator Program, a government initiative that assists consumers in enrolling in health insurance through the health insurance marketplace.[23]
In 2019, under Verma's leadership, the CMS issued new guidance that would allow states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients.[24][25] Verma and the CMS launched a pilot program in 2020 that lowered the cost of insulin to $35 a month for some senior Americans.[26][27]
On March 2, 2020, the office of Vice President Mike Pence announced Verma's addition to the White House Coronavirus Task Force.[28][29] As a part of the taskforce, Verma introduced temporary waivers and regulatory flexibilities for hospitals and healthcare providers.[30]
In the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, she pushed Medicare career civil servant officials to finalize a plan to issue $200 cards before the November 3 election, branded with Trump's name, for Medicare recipients to use on drugs.[31] The taxpayer-funded plan was estimated to cost $7.9 billion and draw from Medicare's trust fund.[31]
She submitted her resignation from the Trump administration 7 days after the 2021 United States Capitol insurrection, but served until the end of the administration.[32][33][34]
Criticism and controversies
editDuring her tenure as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Verma was involved in several controversies and faced criticism from experts and officials. Some experts criticized Verma for her support of Medicaid work requirements and efforts to dismantle aspects of the Affordable Care Act.[35][36][37]
Verma was also criticized for her misuse of taxpayer funds. She reportedly spent millions of dollars on contracts with communications consultants to improve her public image, and in 2018, she filed a claim requesting $47,000 in reimbursement for items stolen during a work trip.[38][39][40] In 2023, the Government Accountability Office officially concluded that Verma's spending while at CMS was in compliance with federal law, after an earlier HHS Inspector General report claimed there was a federal violation.[41][42]
Verma also had a contentious relationship with Alex Azar, the HHS Secretary. The two reportedly clashed over which policies would replace Obamacare and who would get credit for those initiatives.[43][44]
Oracle career
editVerma was appointed as general manager and senior vice president at the Oracle Corporation in April 2023, reporting to Mike Sicilia.[45][46] In January 2024, her role was expanded to executive vice president, and she now oversees Oracle Health.[47]
Personal life
editBorn in Virginia, Verma moved several times across the United States with her family, and once lived in Taiwan for five years, before settling in the greater Indianapolis area.[48] Verma and her family live in Carmel, Indiana.[48]
References
edit- ^ Lagasse, Jeff. "Elizabeth Richter named interim head of CMS as Biden transitions to new era". Healthcare Finance. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ "- NOMINATION OF SEEMA VERMA, TO BE. Administrator, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES". congress.gov.
- ^ Morrison, Janelle (September 2017). "Seema Verma: A Carmel Resident in Charge of American Healthcare". Carmel Monthly Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ "Eleanor Roosevelt High School - CLASS OF 1988". old-friends.co. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Seema Verma". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ "Donald Trump meets with Dr. [sic] Seema Verma, who may help in restructuring Obamacare". The American Bazaar. November 22, 2016.
- ^ a b Cook, Tony (August 26, 2014). "Seema Verma, powerful state health-care consultant, serves two bosses". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Pradhan, Rachana (November 29, 2016). "Trump picks Seema Verma to head Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services". Politico.
- ^ a b Jacqueline LaPointe (March 14, 2017). "Senate Confirms Seema Verma as Next CMS Administrator". Revcycle Intelligence. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Eric Bradner (September 29, 2017). "Who is Seema Verma? The behind-the-scenes player helping Republicans on health care". CNN. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Newkirk, II, Vann R. (February 17, 2017). "Seema Verma's Austere Vision for Medicaid". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Glenza, Jessica (December 4, 2016). "Trump's pick for key health post known for punitive Medicaid plan". The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cook, Tony (December 12, 2014). "5 loopholes in Indiana's ethics laws". The Indianapolis Star.
- ^ a b c d Slodysko, Brian; Johnson, Carla K. "Pick for Medicare post faces questions on Indiana contracts". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Brian Slodysko, Carla K. (February 14, 2017). "Trump pick for Medicare post faces questions on Indiana contracts". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sanger-Katz, Margot (December 1, 2016). "A Trump Pick, and Why Indiana's Strict Medicaid Rules Could Spread". The New York Times.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Fadulu, Lola (April 12, 2019). "Why States Want Certain Americans to Work for Medicaid". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ "Seema Verma on Abortion Funding". www.c-span.org. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ theffron (November 4, 2017). "CMS launches Meaningful Measures, Patients over Paperwork Initiatives". American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Reed, Tina (July 13, 2018). "Seema Verma defends cuts to ACA Navigator program, commitment to states' 'flexibility' | Fierce Healthcare". www.fiercehealthcare.com. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Scott, Dylan (January 11, 2018). "The Trump administration's plan for Medicaid work requirements, explained". Vox. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Trump to let states require employment for Medicaid". January 11, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Thomas, Katie (March 11, 2020). "Insulin Costs May Be Capped in a Medicare Program". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "New CMS Model Aims to Lower Insulin Costs for Seniors". AJMC. March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Lejeune, Tristan (March 2, 2020). "White House adds VA secretary, CMS chief to coronavirus task force". The Hill. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ "Indian-American Seema Verma appointed as key member of US government's coronavirus task force". The New Indian Express. March 3, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ Kelly, Mary Louise (March 31, 2020). "To Stop The Pandemic, Seema Verma Is 'Getting Rid Of A Lot Of Regulations'". NPR. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ a b Diamond, Dan (October 8, 2020). "Health officials scrambling to produce Trump's 'last-minute' drug cards by Election Day". Politico. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ^ "Indian-American Seema Verma Quits Donald Trump's Administration". www.outlookindia.com/. January 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Indian-American Seema Verma resigns as CMS administrator". The Economic Times. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ Tony Pugh (January 15, 2021). "Seema Verma to Step Down as Medicare, Medicaid Director". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Cournoyer, Caroline (October 23, 2019). "Seema Verma, Trump CMS administrator, dodges questions on Obamacare's future at oversight hearing today - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Column: Medicare boss Seema Verma is a threat to public health". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ II, Vann R. Newkirk (February 17, 2017). "Seema Verma's Plan to Make Poor People Pay More for Less". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Contractor proposed Glamour magazine profile for Medicaid chief". POLITICO. November 20, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Exclusive: Key Trump health official spends millions on GOP-connected consultants". POLITICO. March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Cummings, William. "Rep. Kennedy calls on Trump health care administrator to resign over $47,000 stolen property claim". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Office, U. S. Government Accountability. "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Obligations for Communication Services | U.S. GAO". www.gao.gov. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Inspector general: Medicare chief broke rules on her publicity contracts". POLITICO. July 16, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda". POLITICO. November 26, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ Scott, Dylan (December 12, 2019). "The turf war between Trump's top 2 health care officials, explained". Vox. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Oracle Appoints Seema Verma to Lead Oracle Life Sciences".
- ^ Amy Baxter (April 21, 2023). "Seema Verma, former CMS head, joins Oracle". Health Exec. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Brody Ford (January 31, 2024). "Oracle Taps Former Trump Official Seema Verma to Lead Cerner Business". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ a b "Seema Verma: A Carmel Resident in Charge of American Health Care". Carmel Monthly Magazine. Carmel, Indiana. August 30, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
External links
edit- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at CMS.gov
- Roob, Mitchell; Verma, Seema (May 1, 2008). "Indiana: Health Care Reform Amidst Colliding Values". Health Affairs.
- Seema Verma (September 19, 2016). Why Indiana H.I.P. 2.0 Works & Obamacare Fails (Radio broadcast). 91.3 WIBC. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.