Medicare chief asked taxpayers to cover stolen jewelry

A prime Trump health appointee sought to have taxpayers reimburse her for the prices of knickknack, clothes and different possessions, together with a $5,900 Ivanka Trump-brand pendant, that have been stolen while in her luggage throughout a work-related journey, in accordance with paperwork obtained by POLITICO.

Seema Verma, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Providers, filed a $47,000 claim for lost property on Aug. 20, 2018, after her luggage have been stolen while she was giving a speech in San Francisco the prior month. The property was not insured, Verma wrote in her filing to the Health and Human Providers department.

The federal well being division finally reimbursed Verma $2,852.40 for her declare, a CMS spokesperson stated.

Verma’s declare included $43,065 for about two dozen pieces of jewellery, based mostly off an appraisal she'd acquired from a jeweler about three weeks after the theft. Amongst Verma's stolen jewelry was an Ivanka Trump-brand pendant, manufactured from gold, prasiolite and diamonds, that Verma’s jeweler valued at $5,900.

Verma’s declare also included about $2,000 to cover the price of her stolen garments and one other $2,000 to cowl the cost of other stolen goods, together with a $325 declare for moisturizer and a $349 declare for noise-cancelling headphones.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Providers, which incorporates CMS, stated the division has a longstanding coverage of paying for items like jewellery when they are misplaced throughout a work journey.

"When paying for such goods, the division pays a reduced fee based mostly on age for the gadgets that have been lost," the spokesperson stated. "It’s completely applicable that the administrator filed a personal property loss declare for items stolen whereas on work journey and this isn't an unusual follow for federal staff."

However the information of the massive request for stolen luxury gadgets comes at a time of bizarre scrutiny for Verma, who formerly served as a marketing consultant to then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana and has led CMS since March 2017. The $1 trillion health agency administers Medicare, the nation’s medical insurance program for seniors; Medicaid, this system for low-income People; and Obamacare, among other packages.

Verma has been engaged in an acrimonious feud with HHS Secretary Alex Azar that has spilled over into policy matters and prompted separate closed-door meetings for each official with Vice President Pence. Her spending of taxpayer money has also been underneath scrutiny by the HHS inspector common, after POLITICO reported in March about her in depth use of out of doors public relations consultants, some of whom worked to burnish Verma’s personal model.

The $2.25 million public relations contract was placed on hold pending the probe, and Verma has been beneath investigation from congressional Democrats.

Verma’s luggage was stolen out of her rented Chevrolet Tahoe SUV on July 25, 2018, while she was giving a speech at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Membership, based on statements she gave to the local police and HHS. Verma initially estimated the price of her misplaced property as $20,000, in line with the police report, earlier than later revising the price upward when filing her declare to the well being division.

POLITICO final month filed a Freedom of Info Act request about Verma’s claims for private damages and individually obtained the paperwork and confirmed their authenticity with multiple sources.

A CMS spokesperson stated that Verma was certainly one of three staffers whose baggage was stolen, and HHS legal professionals instructed them to file detailed claims for all lacking gadgets, including Verma’s jewelry. "At her personal expense the administrator travels to Washington, DC, from Indiana each week to work at CMS, which was why she was traveling together with her private collection of knickknack," the spokesperson stated. Verma‘s household lives in Indiana.

Employees have been unaware of a federal well being employee beforehand submitting a claim as giant as $47,000.

Verma was in San Francisco as part of a scheduled three-day trip to Northern California that included a talking engagement in Napa Valley and a go to to Palo Alto-based Lucile Packard Youngsters’s Hospital. The journey was accredited by ethics counsel, a CMS spokesperson stated.

Verma’s San Francisco speech marked a notable level in her tenure: It was the primary time the nation’s Medicare chief had publicly attacked “Medicare for All” proposals, arguing that Democrats’ concepts for single-payer well being care would destroy the federal health program for older People and lead to “Medicare for None.”

Verma gained plaudits for the speech inside the White Home, POLITICO reported, and she or he touted it on-line as part of a months-long campaign towards Democrats’ proposals. A watchdog group later filed a complaint that Verma’s continued assaults on Medicare for All allegedly violated the prohibition on federal officials partaking in political activity.

In accordance with Verma’s lost property declare, the stolen gadgets included 11 pairs of earrings, 5 necklaces and three pendants. Verma appeared to have worn the Ivanka Trump pendant on multiple public events, in line with a POLITICO assessment of her appearances, including conferences with the president and at a November 2017 speech when she announced her plan to let states impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients and crack down on other program spending. The federal government spends approximately $5,700 per Medicaid patient.

“Medicaid is just too very important a program to let fraud and inappropriate spending threaten it,” Verma stated that day.

Article originally revealed on POLITICO Magazine

Src: Medicare chief asked taxpayers to cover stolen jewelry
==============================
New Smart Way Get BITCOINS!
CHECK IT NOW!
==============================