CMS has installed its first Chief Economist to inject incentive‑aware analysis into day‑to‑day rules, targeted internal projects, and longer‑run research. The role is explicitly aimed at tackling affordability, fraud, and coding incentives across Medicare, Medicaid, and the exchanges. Institutionalizing this function at a $2 trillion payer could change how U.S. health costs are governed.
— It signals a shift from ad‑hoc rulemaking to embedded economic governance in the nation’s largest health programs, with consequences for spending, fraud control, and plan behavior.
Arnold Kling
2025.12.01
62% relevant
Kling’s piece argues the moral logic (not market failure) drives public provision; that reframing affects how one views roles like CMS’s Chief Economist who must translate political mandates into cost controls—if collectivization is value‑driven, the emphasis shifts from correcting market failures to rationing and cost‑allocation, which is exactly the terrain a chief economist would shape.
Santi Ruiz
2025.10.02
100% relevant
Anup Malani outlines his three‑part mandate as the inaugural CMS Chief Economist—real‑time advice, discrete process‑improvement projects, and policy research.
← Back to All Ideas