Washington, D.C. — The federal government just assembled a new advisory panel to help reshape how Medicare, Medicaid, and other major healthcare programs are financed and run — and the committee’s stated focus on vulnerable populations and Medicare Advantage sustainability has long-term care operators paying close attention.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the members of the Healthcare Advisory Committee on Thursday, March 26. The 18-person body was selected from a pool of more than 400 candidates. Members will advise HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on ways to cut costs, reduce administrative burden, and improve outcomes across federal health programs.
“This Administration is bringing leaders together to tackle the challenges facing American patients and the health care system,” Kennedy said in a statement. “This committee will help us shift from a sick care system to a true health care system by delivering practical solutions that drive real change.”
Oz echoed the sentiment, saying the panel includes deep expertise in care delivery, financing, innovation, and patient engagement. “Their insights will help us advance higher-quality care, reduce administrative burden, and strengthen the sustainability of our programs,” he said.
What the Committee Will Work On
The committee’s five priority areas were spelled out clearly in the official announcement:
- Developing policy to prevent and better manage chronic disease
- Advancing accountability for safety and outcomes while reducing paperwork
- Expanding real-time data use to speed up claims processing and improve quality measurement
- Enhancing care for vulnerable populations, including Medicaid recipients
- Strengthening Medicare Advantage sustainability — specifically modernizing risk adjustment and quality measurement
For skilled nursing facilities, several of those priorities hit close to home. CMS has already been reshaping how nursing homes get inspected and evaluated under the current administration, and this new advisory panel is widely seen as the next layer — setting the policy direction for Medicare and Medicaid programs that nursing homes depend on for the vast majority of their revenue.
The Members Themselves Are Drawing Attention
The committee includes Tony Robbins, the well-known motivational speaker and entrepreneur, alongside a range of health system executives, physicians, and policy experts. Some in the healthcare industry have raised eyebrows at Robbins’ inclusion, though the administration hasn’t commented on the reaction. The full list includes Robert Bessler, MD; David Carmouche, MD; William Gassen, JD; Valerie Huhn; Dennis Laraway; Dan Liljenquist, JD; Kyu Rhee, MD; Russ Thomas, JD; and Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD, among others.
Members will serve two-year terms, and meetings will be open to the public in line with federal transparency requirements. The committee is authorized under the Public Health Service Act and operates under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
The group’s first meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet. Notice of upcoming meetings will be published in the Federal Register and on the CMS website.
Why Nursing Homes Are Watching
Any advisory body with a mandate to reshape how Medicare Advantage is structured — including risk adjustment and quality measurement — has direct implications for skilled nursing operators. MA denials, prior authorization delays, and reimbursement disputes have been mounting concerns across the sector for years.
Whether this committee will take up those issues directly remains to be seen. But its Medicaid focus and chronic disease mandate put it squarely in territory that long-term care providers are navigating every day.
