Formed 1965 (1965-MM) Number of employees 4,100 | Website www.cms.gov | |
 | ||
Preceding Health Care Financing Administration (1977-2001) Agency executive Patrick Conway, Acting Administrator Headquarters Balti, Maryland, United States Founded 30 July 1965, Independence, Missouri, United States Profiles | ||
Getting to know cms long version
The Centers for Medicare & 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 (HHS) 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, clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, and oversight of HealthCare.gov.
Contents
History
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments 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.
Workforce
The CMS employs over 6,000 employees, of which about 4,000 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.
The head of the CMS is the Administrator of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The position is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Regional offices
CMS has its headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland, with 10 regional offices located throughout the United States: