Seema Verma
Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, top center, is sworn in with other members on the first day of the legislative session Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee lawmakers gathered to start their annual session Tuesday in Nashville amid a pandemic and an FBI probe that drew searches of multiple legislative offices by federal agents last week. Those lawmakers include former House Speaker Casada, Rep. Todd Warner and Rep. Robin Smith. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Tennessee lawmakers return for 2021 legislative session

By Jonathan Mattise And Kimberlee Kruesi Jan. 12, 2021 04:17 AM EST

FILE - This image provided by U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service shows the website for HealthCare.gov. Government figures out Friday, Dec. 18 show sign-ups for “Obamacare” health insurance plans are trending more than 6% higher amid surging coronavirus cases and deepening economic misery. (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service via AP)
'Obamacare' enrollment rising as COVID-19 pandemic deepens

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Dec. 18, 2020 06:59 PM EST

Hospitals can care for Medicare patients at home in pandemic

By Linda A. Johnson Nov. 25, 2020 04:30 PM EST
Hospitals will be allowed to care for Medicare patients in their own homes during the pandemic under a government program announced Wednesday to help hospitals...

This image provided by U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service shows the website for HealthCare.gov. Millions of Americans who have lost health insurance in an economy shaken by the coronavirus can sign up for taxpayer-subsidized coverage starting Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service via AP)
'Obamacare' sign-ups begin as millions more are uninsured

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Oct. 31, 2020 09:08 AM EDT

President Donald Trump pumps his fist after speaking at a campaign rally at Phoenix Goodyear Airport Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Trump rule says health plans must disclose costs up front

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Oct. 29, 2020 08:15 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 7, 2020, file photo, Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, speaks about the coronavirus, in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Medicare will cover the yet-to-be approved coronavirus vaccine free for older people under a policy change expected to be announced shortly, a senior administration official said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Feds issue coverage plan for COVID-19 vaccine and treatments

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Oct. 28, 2020 06:56 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 7, 2020, file photo, Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, speaks about the coronavirus, in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Medicare will cover the yet-to-be approved coronavirus vaccine free for older people under a policy change expected to be announced shortly, a senior administration official said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Medicare finalizing coverage policy for coronavirus vaccine

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Oct. 27, 2020 12:37 PM EDT

Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma speaks during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executive orders on lowering drug prices, in the South Court Auditorium in the White House complex, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Report: Much needs doing to shield nursing homes from virus

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Sep. 17, 2020 06:18 PM EDT

In this Aug. 24, 2020, photo Jean Grady wears an insulin pump to help manage her diabetes at her home in Westford, Vt. Before the pandemic, Medicare rules required her make regular two-hour, one-way trips to New Hampshire to meet with her doctor to discuss her treatment. Medicare rule changes during the pandemic now makes it possible for her to meet with her doctor remotely, saving her from hours on the road. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring)
Fad or future? Telehealth expansion eyed beyond pandemic

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Aug. 30, 2020 07:36 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 25, 2020, file photo, residents at the Southern Pines nursing home are separated and wear face coverings during their daily bingo game in Warner Robins, Ga. A new report says COVID-19 cases in U.S. nursing homes jumped nearly 80% earlier this summer, driven by rampant spread across the South and much of the West. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
New COVID-19 mandates on health care facilities get pushback

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Aug. 25, 2020 05:24 PM EDT

Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma speaks during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executive orders on lowering drug prices, in the South Court Auditorium in the White House complex, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Report: Nursing home cases up nearly 80% in COVID-19 rebound

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Aug. 17, 2020 05:32 PM EDT

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, left, looks on as Vice President Mike Pence, right, speaks at a round-table on re-opening schools amid the coronavirus outbreak on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Pence defends outbreak response, pushes against shutdowns

By Meg Kinnard Jul. 21, 2020 04:32 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 7, 2020, file photo, Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Verma failed to properly manage more than $6 million in communications and outreach contracts, giving broad authority over federal employees to a Republican media strategist she worked with before joining the Trump administration, a government watchdog said in a report to be released Thursday, July 16. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Watchdog report faults Medicare agency's contract management

By Richard Lardner Jul. 16, 2020 01:13 AM EDT

Registered Nurse Laure Hale writes on her car as she is preparing to take part in a motorcade protest to the Duval County School Board building, Tuesday, July 14, 2020 in Jacksonville, Fla. Duval County teachers and their supporters gathered in a parking lot before they drove to the Duval County School Board Building and protest plans of starting the upcoming school year with the rate of COVID-19 infections hitting record rates in Jacksonville. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)
The Latest: China eases restrictions on domestic tourism

By The Associated Press Jul. 14, 2020 02:12 AM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2019, file photo Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks during a Pennsylvania Democratic Party fundraiser in Philadelphia. The Trump administration was slow to comprehend the scale of COVID-19's impact on nursing homes and a disjointed federal response has only compounded the devastating toll, according to a report from Senate Democrats. “Unfortunately for the nation, it is a chronicle of deadly delay, and a lack of urgency, and the lack of a strategy,” said Casey, ranking Democrat on the Aging Committee. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Dems: Government's 'deadly delay' devastated nursing homes

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jul. 01, 2020 12:07 AM EDT

Victorian State Premier Daniel Andrews addresses a press conference in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Two schools have been closed in Melbourne after students tested positive for the coronavirus. Victoria state has recorded 17 new cases and Andrews said there would be “significant community transmission” among the new cases. (James Ross/AAP Image via AP)
The Latest: SKorea continues upward trend in new infections

By The Associated Press Jun. 23, 2020 02:29 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 30, 2020, file photo, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. The government says Blacks are nearly four times more likely than whites to be hospitalized with COVID-19 among people with Medicare. The analysis from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also found that Hispanics were about twice as likely as whites to be hospitalized. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Medicare data: Blacks likelier to be hospitalized for COVID

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jun. 22, 2020 07:40 PM EDT

FILE - This May 14, 2020, file photo shows notes for healthcare workers taped in the front window at the Kimberly Hall North nursing home in Windsor, Conn. Nursing home residents account for nearly 1 in 10 of all the coronavirus cases in the United States and more than a quarter of the deaths, according to an Associated Press analysis of government data released Thursday, June 18. (AP Photo/Chris Ehrmann, File)
Nursing homes represent more than 1 in 4 COVID-19 deaths

By Justin Myers And Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jun. 18, 2020 07:11 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 20, 2020, file photo emergency medical technicians transport a patient from a nursing home to an emergency room bed at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. A grim blame game with partisan overtones is breaking out over COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents, a tiny slice of the population that represents a shockingly high proportion of Americans who have perished in the pandemic. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Harrowing blame game over COVID-19 toll in nursing homes

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jun. 15, 2020 12:15 AM EDT

Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, listens during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on "COVID-19/Unemployment Insurance" on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (Leah Millis/Pool via AP)
Outcry as some nursing homes try to grab stimulus checks

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jun. 09, 2020 05:32 PM EDT