Trump picks South Asian to tackle Medicare and Medicai

Seema Verma

By Louis Chan
REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

A CONSULTANT who worked under Vice President-elect Mike Pence to expand Medicaid in Indiana has been nominated to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Seema Verma is the third Asian/American to be nominated by President-elect Donald Trump. The others are South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who is Trump’s choice for Ambassador to the United Nations and Washington veteran Elaine Chao who will help the Department of Transportation.

RELATED:

• Elaine Chao picked for Secretary of Transportation
• Nikki Haley chosen as UN Ambassador

“I am pleased to nominate Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” said President-elect Trump. “She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems. Together, Chairman Price (nominated as Secretary of Health & Human Services) and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans.”

“I am honored to be nominated by President-elect Trump,” said Verma. “I look forward to helping him tackle our nation’s daunting healthcare problems in a responsible and sustainable way.”

Verma is credited with helping Indiana implement Obamacare in 2010. Her program is said to have appealed to conservatives while meeting the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

She, along with Price, will play a major role in either eliminating or reshaping Obamacare, one of Trump's top campaign promises.

Verma also served as Vice President of Planning for the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County and as a Director with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) in Washington D.C. Ms. Verma received her Master’s degree in Public Health, with a concentration in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University, and her Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from the University of Maryland.

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Barack Obama knows how to use new media BuzzFeed video to sell Obamacare

The medium is the message

MARSHALL McLUHAN was right. Fifty years ago he was talking about the impact of television on American society. Today, if he were alive, he'd be referring to the Internet and the subsequent birth of all the social media aps that many people - mostly the younger people - rely on to connect with friends, family and anybody else who might discover their photo, video, blog or Tweet.

I only bring up because of the uproar over President Obama's use of Buzzfeed to deliver a message to young people, to enroll in Obamacare, otherwise knows as the Affordable Care Act or the U.S. watered down attempt at providing health care to those who could not otherwise afford it.

His critics - and we know who they are - claim the President is being "unpresidential" for using a popular medium to encourage enrollment in the national health plan. 

Others say the President and his staff understand young people better than the old traditionalist media users. Young people don't read the newspapers or the 6 p.m. news anchors. They get their information, vetted and unveiled, from Comedy Central, late night comedians, Youtube, and any number of social media.

His use of Buzzfeed allows him to reach young people where they hang out (virtually). I understand your needs. I understand how you communicate. 

The President understands today. And I betcha, if he is like me, a baby-boomer coming late to the party, he depends on his daughters Malia and Sasha a lot to find out what's hot, what's trending, etc. 

Unfortunately, I'll bet you also that his detractors will find to use the clip in such a way to demean, discredit or defame him.

The use of the video is brilliant. The medium IS the message ... it is also the massage!

Oh, yeah ... the enrollment deadline is February 15.