Former Medicare chief to head health insurance lobby AHIP

Tavenner left that for the job of administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services after President Obama’s first appointee, healthcare quality researcher and single payer advocate Donald Berwick, MD, was deemed too radical to get confirmed by the Senate.

America’s Health Insurance Plans said its board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday on the appointment.

“This is a great opportunity”. “AHIP has a longstanding reputation as focused on consumers and consumer advocacy, and being a leader in the transformation of health care”.

Tavenner began her healthcare career in 1981 as a nurse at Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond, Virginia.

“I am honored to join this association”, Tavenner said. “We are moving the needle by accelerating the development and expansion of innovative new healthcare payment and delivery models”.

During her almost five years in the administration, Tavenner drew heat from the insurance industry a couple of times.

She stepped down from CMS in February 2015. She worked, and shared the blame, with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during HealthCare.gov’s disastrous rollout.

Ignagni is heading to Emblemhealth in New York as CEO after 22 years leading AHIP. The health insurance industry is also tussling with drug companies over the price of specialty medications. “With detailed data analysis, health plans are working with clinicians to identify gaps in care and to provide personalized support for patients managing chronic conditions”.

The change in AHIP’s leadership is a significant moment in the group’s history as insurers adjust to the health care environment created by Obamacare and seek to protect reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage, a popular alternative to traditional Medicare.