Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Facts for Kids

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Agency overview

Formed	March 1977; 48 years ago (1977-03)
Preceding	Health Care Financing Administration (1977-2001)
Headquarters	Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.
Employees	6,000
Agency executives	Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator Jonathan Blum, Principal Deputy Administrator
Parent agency	Department of Health and Human Services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a government agency in the United States. It's part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. CMS helps manage important health programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

They also work with states on the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This program helps kids and families get health insurance. CMS also sets rules for health insurance and checks the quality of places like nursing homes. They make sure these places meet good standards. CMS was once known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) until 2001.

CMS checks every nursing home in the United States. They have a 5-Star Quality Rating System. This system helps families choose the best care for their loved ones.

How CMS Started
- Creating Medicare and Medicaid
- CMS Takes Shape
Who Works at CMS
Where CMS Offices Are
Leaders of CMS
See also

How CMS Started

The idea of "Medicare" first came up in 1956. It was a program to help military families with their medical care. Later, in 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suggested a health care program for older adults.

Creating Medicare and Medicaid

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a new law on July 30, 1965. This law created both Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare helps older people and some younger people with disabilities get health insurance. Medicaid helps people with low incomes.

Arthur E. Hess was the first person in charge of the Medicare program. At that time, Medicare helped 19 million Americans. The Social Security Administration managed Medicare. Another group, the Social and Rehabilitation Service, managed Medicaid. Both were part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).

CMS Takes Shape

In 1977, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was created. This new agency brought Medicare and Medicaid under one roof. HCFA was in charge of making sure both programs worked well together.

On July 1, 2001, HCFA changed its name. It became the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

Who Works at CMS

CMS has over 6,000 employees. About 4,000 of them work at the main office in Woodlawn, Maryland. Others work in Washington, D.C. or in offices across the country.

The leader of CMS is called the Administrator. The President chooses this person, and the Senate must approve them. On May 27, 2021, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure became the Administrator. She was the first Black woman to hold this important job.

Where CMS Offices Are

CMS has its main office in Woodlawn, Maryland. It also has 10 regional offices across the United States. These offices help manage programs in different parts of the country.

Region I – Boston, Massachusetts

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

Region II – New York, New York

New York State, New Jersey, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

Region III – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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

Region IV – Atlanta, Georgia

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

Region V – Chicago, Illinois

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin

Region VI – Dallas, Texas

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

Region VII – Kansas City, Missouri

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska

Region VIII – Denver, Colorado

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

Region IX – San Francisco, California

Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands

Region X – Seattle, Washington

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

Leaders of CMS

Here is a list of the people who have led CMS (or its earlier version, HCFA) over the years:

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	President served under
1	Arthur E. Hess	1965	1967	Lyndon B. Johnson
2	Thomas M. Tierney	1967	1978	Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
3	Robert Derzon	June 1977	November 1978	Jimmy Carter
4	Leonard Schaeffer	November 1978	June 1980
5	Howard N. Newman	July 1980	January 1981
6	Carolyne Davis	March 1981	August 1985	Ronald Reagan
7	William L. Roper	May 1986	February 1989	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
8	Gail Wilensky	February 1990	March 1992	George H. W. Bush
9	Bruce Vladeck	May 1993	September 1997	Bill Clinton
10	Nancy-Ann DeParle	November 1997	September 2000	Bill Clinton
11	Thomas A. Scully	May 2001	December 3, 2003	George W. Bush
12	Mark McClellan	March 25, 2004	October 14, 2006	George W. Bush
13	Donald Berwick	July 7, 2010	December 2, 2011	Barack Obama
14	Marilyn Tavenner	December 2, 2011	March 18, 2015
Acting	Andy Slavitt	March 18, 2015	January 20, 2017
15	Seema Verma	March 14, 2017	January 20, 2021	Donald Trump
Acting	Elizabeth Richter	January 20, 2021	May 27, 2021	Joe Biden
16	Chiquita Brooks-LaSure	May 27, 2021	Present	Joe Biden

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services facts for kids

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