SWAMP ALERT: Seema Verma Runs Our Healthcare While Stealing Millions of Taxpayer Dollars

Another Swamp Alert... a major Trump-appointed Republican official stealing from our nation.  This time, it's Seema Verma, who runs Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. She keeps trying to destroy these programs citing their costs while spending millions of taxpayer dollars to make herself look good.

The Trump appointee who oversees Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare quietly directed millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts to Republican communications consultants during her tenure atop the agency — including hiring one well-connected GOP media adviser to bolster her public profile.

... represent a sharp break from precedent at the agency..... over the objections of CMS staffers, who raised concerns about her push to use federal funds on GOP consultants and to amplify coverage of Verma’s own work.... routing taxpayer dollars to GOP consultants and helping a federal official like Verma improve her personal brand.... Oversight groups also have raised concerns, saying the behavior....would appear to cross ethical lines.

Verma got her job because she previously worked with Pence to destroy healthcare for the poor which she's busy doing for the entire country now.  Quite the resume.

Verma, a close ally of Mike Pence, has become a lightning rod for pushing work requirements in Medicaid and spearheading the Trump administration’s efforts to unilaterally unwind pieces of Obamacare. She previously worked as a consultant to conservative states seeking to reshape health care programs for the poor.

In her two years leading CMS, Verma has drawn attention for regularly criticizing Obamacare — a law she administers.... mocking progressive ideas like “Medicare for All.”  She also has battled with health experts, including the committee created to advise Congress on Medicaid, which broadly has warned the administration’s push to shrink government health programs will reverse coverage gains made under Obamacare.

This is blatent corruption and she should be forced to resign immediately.

One subcontract is with Pam Stevens, a longtime GOP media adviser who specializes in setting up profiles of Republican women. A second subcontract is with Marcus Barlow, whom Verma worked with in Indiana and considered hiring as a top communications official in 2017 before he was blocked by the White House.

Verma recently completed several interviews, arranged by Stevens, that focused on emphasizing her personal life and her role as a prominent Republican woman.The cover profile in this month’s AARP bulletin, which went to more than 24 million people....

A third contract is with Nahigian Strategies.... consulted with several GOP presidential campaigns; Ken Nahigian briefly led Trump’s presidential transition team in 2017.... supported and advised Verma on messaging strategy for nearly two years.... paid at least $2 million for its work with CMS over the past two years.

If Seema Verma wants to pay millions of dollars to make herself famous while destroying the lives of millions, at least she could do it with her own money.  But because she used taxpayer dollars, hopefully she will be gone soon, disgraced despite her efforts to steal our money to do just the opposite.

Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/29/seema-verma-contracts-1306652