Obama's recess appointment of Berwick as CMS head draws criticism from Republicans

As expected, last night's announcement that President Obama would bypass Senate confirmation and use a recess appointment in naming Dr. Donald Berwick the next head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has drawn mixed reactions. While groups like the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association applauded the decision, with the latter calling Berwick "an innovator in healthcare quality," many Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), disapprove of the move, calling it "truly outrageous" that Berwick gets to bypass Congressional questioning. 

But could this decision ultimately backfire for the president come November? Last month, it was reported that Republicans hoping to eventually repeal the healthcare reform law would have a tough time doing so, considering that most people had moved on from worrying about the impact of reform; instead, most people have been focusing on daily updates of the BP oil spill disaster. 

Now, however, all that could change. Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director, in defending the president's decision, took a direct jab at Republicans when he said in a White House Blog post that they "made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points."

So even though Berwick now gets to avoid facing the firing range, at least temporarily--according to Politico, the appointment is only good until the end of the next session of Congress, in late 2011--it could help Republicans in bringing the argument back to the forefront of the public's mindset. Members of Congress who initially planned on questioning Berwick about advocating rationing and his "admiration for Britain's National Health Service" now are arguing that the Obama Administration has something to hide by making such a move.

"As if shoving a trillion dollar government takeover of healthcare down the throat of a disapproving American public wasn't enough, apparently [the administration] intends to arrogantly circumvent the American people yet again ...," McConnell said in a statement. "Democrats haven't scheduled so much as a committee hearing for Donald Berwick, but the mere possibility of allowing the American people the opportunity to hear what he intends to do with their healthcare is evidently reason enough for this Administration to sneak him through without public scrutiny."

Pfeiffer, meanwhile, pointed to former CMS administrator Mark McClellan's endorsement of Berwick as proof that Obama's was the right course of action. McClellan was appointed by President George W. Bush, and served from 2004 to 2006.

"[W]ith the agency facing new responsibilities to protect seniors' care under the Affordable Care Act, there's no time to waste with Washington game-playing," Pfeiffer wrote. "The new tasks and deadlines ... call for exactly the kind of vision that has earned Dr. Berwick this bipartisan praise."

To learn more:
- here's the White House Blog post
- read the Politico article
- check out this article from The Hill
- here's Sen. McConnell's full statement
- here's a statement from the American Hospital Association endorsing Berwick
- check out this NPR News Blog post

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