U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) will host Ms. Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on a tour of Kansas health care facilities on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 to meet with a variety of health care providers from across the state. Ms. Tavenner is the head official at CMS, the division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for administering Medicare and Medicaid. Sen. Moran arranged the tour for Ms. Tavenner after she accepted his invitation to visit Kansas and learn more about the unique challenges facing Kansas' health care providers.
"Many of Kansas' hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, nursing facilities and other health care providers operate on tight margins to provide quality care to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries spread across a wide area," Sen. Moran said. "Each time I visit one of these facilities and meet the individuals providing this care to Kansans, I learn something new about the unique challenges they face. These providers are the foundation of their communities. I am very pleased Ms. Tavenner accepted my invitation to accompany me on these visits and I hope the conversations she has with Kansans will give her valuable perspective for her work in Washington."
Tuesday's tour will include five different meetings in northeast Kansas. The day will begin with a visit to Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, where Sen. Moran and Ms. Tavenner will tour the hospital with president and CEO Randy Nyp, and meet with a group of hospital administrators with the Kansas Hospital Association. Sen. Moran and Ms. Tavenner will then travel to Lawrence to observe a home health care visit hosted by Kansas Home Care Association.
While in Lawrence, Sen. Moran and Ms. Tavenner will tour the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy with Dean Ken Audus and members of the Kansas Pharmacists Association. While at KU School of Pharmacy, they will also meet with physician members of the Kansas Medical Society and members of the Kansas Health Care Association representing long-term care and assisted living providers.
Sen. Moran is a member of the Senate Appropriations health subcommittee which has jurisdiction over the budgets of HHS and CMS.