HHS Inspector General to Probe Medicaid, Medicare Administrator

The inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services is investigating the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for possible ethics violations.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., requested an investigation after Politico reported that CMS Administrator Seema Verma approved communications subcontracts that paid millions in taxpayer funds to Republican consultants.

“The head of Obamacare doesn't need outside consultants to get reporters to talk to her,” one anonymous CMS official told Politico. “The job pitches itself.”

“The HHS Inspector General just accepted our request to investigate CMS Administrator Verma’s questionable use of contracted political operatives for her own benefit on the taxpayers’ dime,” Pallone tweeted on Friday, with a picture of HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson’s letter in response to his request.

Levinson notes that “prior to receiving your letter, OIG [Office of Inspector General] staff had taken preliminary steps to look into the matter. My staff is also reviewing the questions outlined in your letter.”

“I’m glad the Inspector General will review Administrator Verma’s role in awarding these highly suspicious contracts and whether CMS violated the law or ethics rules,” Pallone added.

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