Bloomberg: U.S. Health Insurance Regulator to Leave Oversight Job
Steve Larsen, the government administrator directing enactment of U.S. insurance regulations created by the 2010 health-care overhaul, is leaving to return to the private sector, according to e-mails to staff. Larsen plans to leave his position as head of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight in July, according to e-mails obtained by Bloomberg. ... Larsen didn't immediately respond to an e-mail requesting comment on his departure. (Wayne, 6/15).
Politico: Larsen Stepping Down As CCIIO Director
Larsen will become executive vice president at OPTUM, a health services business within UnitedHealth Group, sources tell POLITICO. The shake-up comes at a sensitive time for the office. If the Supreme Court upholds the health reform law, CCIIO will have a lot of work to do helping states meet an end-of-the-year deadline for preparing to implement health insurance exchanges. But if the law is struck down -; or even if only parts of it are overturned -; the head of the agency will have to pick up the pieces (Feder, 6/15).
The Hill: Top HHS Official Resigns
CCIIO is implementing the bulk of the new healthcare law, including its consumer protections and new rules that govern insurance companies' spending. ... [Acting Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Marilyn] Tavenner said in her e-mail that Mike Hash, now the director of HHS' Office of Health Reform, will step in as CCIIO's interim director while the department looks for a permanent replacement (Baker, 6/15).