Does CMS, the Giant Medicare and Medicaid Administrator, Have the Right Answers? Not Bloody Likely

By ADAM ZAGORIN

At a time of growing suspicion about the way the federal government conducts the people's business, the recent whistleblower allegations related to big-time investors' special access to government information certainly were not heartening. As POGO reported, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave lengthy briefings at the request of hedge funds and political intelligence brokers with no discernible benefit to the CMS or the federal government.

Why would CMS do this? Whatever the reason, the whistleblower’s charges are so far undisputed by CMS, which issued a bland statement to POGO saying the meeting in question broke none of the agency’s rules. Yet the meeting did seem to raise a number of obvious and troubling questions. And now, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is trying to get some answers. 

In a three-page letter sent this week to the acting administrator of CMS, Grassley declared that the whistleblower’s allegations demonstrated a troubling pattern:

My concern is that these allegations suggest a continuing pattern in which CMS officials...under the cover of reaching out and meeting with stakeholders, have disseminated information to well-connected lobbyists in non-public settings.

The whistleblower said he was told by a supervisor that such meetings are “routine” at CMS.

Grassley also complained that the agency isn’t telling him when it plans to implement a key part of the Affordable Care Act that would reveal payments to doctors and teaching hospital by various vested interests. 

As the Senator put it, “It is troubling that it appears that your agency has devoted resources to close-door meetings with hedge funds and political intelligence brokers while it continues to delay implementation of a critical piece of legislation that would improve transparency and open government.”

Grassley wrapped up his love note to CMS with 19 questions, setting the agency a December 28, 2011, deadline. In light of facts put forward by the whistleblower, which CMS has so far not challenged, it looks like a number of these questions may have no good answers.

For example, question fourteen: “What oversight safeguards are employed to ensure that CMS employees do not reveal inside information in these meetings?”

And question fifteen: “What safeguards does CMS place on the information conveyed in meetings so that it is not used for insider trading?”

And so on.

It remains to be seen whether or not the rules, laws, or guidelines were broken, or if they need to be strengthened. CMS's approval—at least as expressed to POGO—of the meeting and others like it, is a problem. Apparently, they are just fine with offering special-access briefings to Wall Street investors with money riding on CMS decisions.

Adam Zagorin is POGO's Journalist-in-Residence.

Photo of the Wall St. bull by Inti.

Comments

[Lynn]

Where is the oversight? In the cell right next to Bradley Manning!

[TG]

[Sp.Wilcock] and the TRILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT by at least 122 countries?

[TG]

You guys DID just hear David Wilcox's latest interview with Kerry Cassidy from Wed. night? Right? Involving the lid blown off the cabal's actions?

[brad giordani]

This is the noromal way of doing business and its called the revolving door. It works the same in defense as it does in entitlements. I loved the comment the Senator made "It is troubling that it appears that your agency has devoted resources to close-door meetings with hedge funds and political intelligence brokers" These powerful brokers are connected to the elites and most have their hand in uncle sams cookie jar too. This is the real culture of corruption in DC and both sides play the same game. The USG needs to issue Visa cards and let the free market decide the winners and losers. Credit Lines will BYPASS the revolving door. Credit lines will control/cut spending and we also have the luxury of Accountibility with a credit card statement from Visa. Just in DoD alone, hundereds of billions could be saved NOW by opening up competition (COTS) for warfighters/agents to buy all of their gear/supplies/hardware through competitive websites and not GSA, DLA and the like. These supply centers profit on all goods that are sold which adds more money to the already expensive end item. I have 25 years of experience dealing with the DoD in selling a weapons lubricant. If you want to do business the existing way, hire a lobbyist, attend a few fundraisers and a few trips to the hill to meet with staffers and Bingo. Our entire countries problems can be solved by transparent competition in the USG and credit lines for federal employees to purchase gear and supplies. This way, the best products are delievered on time and at a good price. Competition built this country to be the greatest on earth. Go to militec.blogspot.com to rescue DoD and entitlements.

[Niko Borosky]

An interesting story. First, it is notable that the Congress and, not the so-called "media" (we are learning not to use "journalist," because few media people are journalists these days), broke this story. More than ever, the MSM are absent or clueless about government wrongdoing. It is more likely that good-govt orgs or other stakeholder parties break news. And when there is news, media organizations typically steal it from the one that broke the story and posture that it is theirs. And their only mission is to whip it and hype anxiety.

Also, it is interesting that the story implies that nefarious political officials set up this questionable meeting. For every rotten appointed official, there are ten witless or conniving careerists who avert their eyes, quash common sense, and usually create the information flows that various outsiders exploit. These are not whistleblowers, but rather lazy and irresponsible civil servants who lack good ethics. They need to be rooted out and canned, just as much as the political officials who lack good judgement.