Ed Markey: “here we go again, debating the nomination of a Trump candidate who is both unqualified and reflects an extreme ideology…”

“here we go again, debating the nomination of a Trump candidate who is both unqualified and reflects an extreme ideology for the Department she will hope to lead. In this case it is Seema Verma, and the Department is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or CMS, as it is often called. Why is CMS, an acronym for a department that most Americans don't even know about, so important that its nominee would make it to the floor of the U.S. Senate for debate? Because 100 million Americans receive health insurance coverage under one of our Federal insurance programs--Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, all of which are under the jurisdiction of CMS. CMS is the traffic cop of our Federal Government healthcare system. It makes sure that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare by administering and overseeing all aspects of our Federal health program. It promotes healthcare innovation and works to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse throughout our healthcare system. Under the Trump administration and Republican leadership, which has vowed to repeal ObamaCare and get rid of Medicaid as we know it, the leader of CMS will be the person responsible for reducing Federal spending on public insurance programs, particularly for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. Seema Verma is President Trump's nominee to try to meet that misguided and heartless challenge.…”