Don Berwick

The Obama Administration is set to disclose that Donald M. Berwick is its pick for administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, according to a report from the Bureau of National Affairs.

Berwick, who currently serves as president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, has long been considered a contender for the position. Earlier rumors in Washington suggested that Glenn Steele, president and CEO of the Geisinger Health System, might be tapped for the job. (McKnight’s, 1/28/10) The official announcement was timed to follow the passage of healthcare reform, and is expected at some point during Congress’s two-week April recess, according to BNA, which cites unnamed sources for its story. The position of CMS administrator is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Neither representative from CMS or the White House would confirm the news report for McKnight’s. Berwick could not be reached for comment. Berwick would be the first CMS administrator since Mark McClellan left the agency late in 2006. Charlene Frizzera is the acting administrator.