Indian-American Health Policy Expert Dr Meena Seshamani Appointed As Medicare Director

Indian-American physician Dr Meena Seshamani, an Indian-American doctor, has been appointed as the Director of the US Centre for Medicare. Seshamani is known to have led the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris transition Health and Human Services (HHS) agency review team. Her term began on July 6.

The 43-year-old will now lead the centre’s efforts in serving the people aged 65 or older. She will also serve the people with disabilities and with the end-stage renal disease that rely on Medicare coverage, a national health insurance program in the United States, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week. "Honored to lead Medicare during this pivotal time, "the health policy expert tweeted shortly after her appointment. Seshamani also added that she will bring her experience as a doctor, a health system leader, and health policy expert as the Director of the US Centre for Medicare. She will work towards promoting health equity, quality person-centered care, affordability and sustainability, according to her tweet.

Honored to lead Medicare during this pivotal time. I will bring my experience as a doctor, a health system leader, and health policy expert to promote health equity, quality person-centered care, and affordability and sustainability. @CMSGov https://t.co/ubaU1pcT9G

— Meena Seshamani (@drmeenasesh) July 7, 2021

Seshamani will bring her "diverse background" as a health care executive as well as a health economist, physician and health policy expert to CMS, said the company's administrator, adding that her aim would be providing quality health care to the people who rely on the insurance program and advancing health equity, the company mentioned.

Seshamani worked as vice president of clinical care transformation at MedStar Health, where she implemented population health and value-based care initiatives and served on the senior leadership of the ten chosen hospitals, a media release said. Previously, she joined the force as director of the Office of Health Reform at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where she drove strategy and managed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and delivery system reform.

Meena Seshamani completed her residency training in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and practiced as a head and neck surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

She was leading population health efforts for the Maryland and Washington, DC-based health system when the pandemic hit. The Indian-American doctor is said to have been trained as both a physician and as an economist. She has a good understanding of how government works, about how the medical professionals think about populations, according to Seshamani herself, who opened up about the country's medical crisis during an interview with Forbes. "I'm also a practicing physician," she noted adding that she knows what it's like on the ground during the pandemic.

Seshamani served in the Office of Health Reform, first as director of Policy Analysis and then as deputy director, from February 2009 to November 2010. She completed her residency training in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She went on to practice as a head and neck surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, TOI reported. After receiving her BA with Honours in Business Economics from Brown University, her MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Indian-American got an PhD in Health Economics from the University of Oxford, where she was a Marshall Scholar.

Feature Image Credit: pi.medstarhealth.org