What with Cindy Mann and Melanie Bella leaving the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency is entering 2015 without those chief regulators against the ongoing Affordable Care Act implementation.
Cindy Mann served as deputy administrator of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP; Melanie Bella, for her part, directed the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office.
Associate Editor Anthony Brino delves into what their leaving might mean for CMS moving forward.
The gist: Bella and Mann helped sculpt new policy directions in Medicaid and they’re leaving as the Obama administration enters its fourth quarter — and its final chance to effectively set the foundation for Medicaid expansion.
What’s more, the next two years will see new opportunities emerge for Medicaid beneficiaries and dual-eligibles, Brino noted, as well as new challenges that could influence states’ decisions about managed care contracting.
