May 29, 2001: Former Lobbyist for For-Profit Hospitals Sworn in as head of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Thomas A. Scully is sworn in as head of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Scully served as president and chief executive officer of the Federation of American Hospitals, a trade association that lobbies on behalf of 1,700 privately-owned and managed community hospitals and health systems. He held that position for six years [Healthcare Financial Management, 7/2001; US Department of Health and Human Services, 11/10/2003] and was making $675,000 a year when he left. As the administrator of HCFA, he will be paid a salary of $134,000 a year. [New York Times, 12/3/2003] During his confirmation hearings, Scully promised the Senate Finance Committee that he would “aggressively enforc[e] the fraud statutes.” Under the Clinton administration, the Justice Department had brought a number of lawsuits against hospitals alleging that they had over billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal heath programs. [Iglehart, 12/27/2001]