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Who is on it and what it will cover
On March 26, HHS and CMS announced 18 members for the committee, chosen from more than 400 nominations. It will advise Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Administrator Mehmet Oz on financing and delivering care across Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Three members come from large nonprofit health systems: Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health and chair-elect designate of the American Hospital Association; Dennis Laraway, CFO of Cleveland Clinic; and Dan Liljenquist, chief strategy officer of Intermountain Health. Two senior CMS officials serve ex officio.
The committee’s agenda includes preventing and managing chronic disease, accountability for safety and outcomes while reducing administrative burden, real-time data use for quality, claims processing and measurement, care for vulnerable populations including Medicaid enrollees, and Medicare Advantage sustainability, with attention to risk adjustment and quality measurement. Members serve two-year terms, meetings will be open to the public, and notices will appear in the Federal Register. The first meeting is expected later this year.
Why it matters for hospitals
The committee’s recommendations are not binding, but advisory bodies can shape which ideas reach formal rulemaking. Several agenda items touch hospital finances directly. Medicare Advantage risk adjustment and quality measures influence how plans are paid and, in turn, how they pay providers. Administrative burden and claims processing go to prior authorization, denials and cash flow. Medicaid quality work could affect how state programs measure and pay for care.
Having a CFO and a chief strategy officer from large systems on the panel means hospital operating and financial realities will be represented. Outside input will still matter, and the most useful input will be specific and backed by data.
How to engage
- Watch the Federal Register: Assign someone in government relations to track meeting notices and comment opportunities.
- Build your evidence: Gather internal data on Medicare Advantage denials, payment delays and administrative costs that illustrate the problems the committee will study.
- Work through associations: Share examples with your state hospital association and the AHA so they can inform members and testimony.
- Offer solutions: Bring practical proposals on chronic disease programs or data exchange, not only complaints.
- Brief the board: Note the committee as a policy channel to watch over the next two years.
Archive entry for Mar 30, 2026, added Nov. 11, 2026.