Berwick supporters urge Obama, Senate to hold confirmation hearings
Embattled Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick received a shot of support recently from a number of high-profile colleagues in the medical field, according to news sources.
Dozens of healthcare leaders late last week penned a letter to President Obama and other Democratic leaders in Congress urging them to push for a confirmation hearing for Berwick in the Senate. They characterized Berwick as an outstanding nominee trapped in a partisan battle over healthcare reform. It is important that Berwick be able to defend himself and share his views in public, according to his supporters.
"Misleading statements and untruths about his remarkable record have replaced a legitimate exploration of differences that can emerge during an open public hearing," they wrote.
Letter signers included Jack Lewin, MD, CEO of the American College of Cardiology, Christine Cassel, MD, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and Lucian Leape, MD, adjunct professor of health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health. Groups signing on included the American College of Physicians and the American Osteopathic Association.
