Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with State governments to administer Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and health insurance portability standards. In addition to these programs, CMS has other responsibilities, including the administrative simplification standards from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), quality standards in long-term care facilities (more commonly referred to as nursing homes) through its survey and certification process, and clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.

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History

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act on July 30, 1965, establishing both Medicare and Medicaid. The Social Security Administration (SSA) became responsible for the administration of Medicare and the Social and Rehabilitation Service (SRS) became responsible for the administration of Medicaid. Both Agencies were organized under what was then known as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).

In 1977, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was established under HEW. HCFA became responsible for the coordination of Medicare and Medicaid. The responsibility for enrolling beneficiaries into Medicare and processing premium payments remained with SSA.

In 1980 the Department of Health and Human Services was created when HEW was divided into two agencies: the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HCFA became an agency under the Department of Health and Human Services.

On July 1, 2001, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson renamed HCFA the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Secretary Thompson explained that in order "to give the agency a new direction, a new spirit, it is necessary that we give it a new name - one that truly reflects the agency's vital mission to serve millions of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries across America."

The previous CMS Administrator, Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, was sworn in on March 25, 2004. On September 5, 2006, McClellan announced his resignation from the post. The current Acting Administrator as of September 20, 2007 is Kerry Weems.

Workforce

The CMS employs approximately 4,100 employees, of which 2,700 are located at its headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland. The remaining employees are located in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., the 10 regional offices listed below, and in various field offices located throughout the United States.

Regional offices

CMS has its headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland, with 10 regional offices located throughout the United States:

• Region I - Boston

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

• Region II - New York

New Jersey, New York as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

• Region III - Philadelphia

Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

• Region IV - Atlanta

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

• Region V - Chicago

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

• Region VI - Dallas

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

• Region VII - Kansas City

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

• Region VIII - Denver

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

• Region IX - San Francisco

Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

• Region X - Seattle

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

See also

• Administration on Aging
• Medicare (Australia)
• Medicare (Canada)
• National Health Service (United Kingdom)
• Quality improvement organizations
• Stark Law
• Medical billing
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

• Thomas A. Scully