Harkin's retirement leaves hole in Senate health care leadership -- and parties are scrambling

The retirement of Sen. Tom Harkin -- a key health care figure in the Senate -- has both parties scrambling to field someone to fill the seat.

The Wall Street Journal: Harkin's Exit Heralds Scramble For Senate Seat
Mr. Harkin has endured major political upheavals through the decades, arriving in the Senate during the conservative Reagan era and more recently helping to advance the 2010 health-care overhaul, the Affordable Care Act, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's presidency that is widely embraced by liberals (Hughes, 1/26).

Also in the news, a retirement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services --

Kaiser Health News: Retiring Medicare Actuary Reflects On The Politics Of Spending And Why He Almost Quit
Richard S. Foster is retiring this week after 18 years as the chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. His duties included projecting Medicare and Medicaid spending and the cost of health care legislation to help policymakers weigh the impact on the federal budget. Some of those estimates got him into hot water with members of both parties (Carey, 1/28).