Recently, Adam Boehler stepped down as head of the Center for Innovation (CMMI) at CMS. He spoke this week at the HLTH conference (here), and remarked that his successor was likely to be named soon.
According to an article in Politico a few weeks ago, Brad Smith was a favored contender (here). Smith, not to be confused with the Brad Smith who is President at Microsoft, is a 36-year-old former Rhodes scholar and McKinsey consultant. (The first head of CMMI, Patrick Conway, also served a stint at McKinsey between college and med school). Smith served as staff under Sen. Bob Corker and developed the palliative care firm Aspire, sold to Anthem for several hundred million dollars in 2018.
CMMI recently rolled out new payment models that include capitated payments for primary care (here) and direct-contracting models (here, here). (It takes some expertise, though, to recognize the difference between "total care capitation" and regular Medicare Advantage.)
