An American Indian, a close aide to Trump on health care issues, resigned

Washington:

Sima Verma, one of the highest-ranking American Indians in the outgoing Trump administration, has resigned from her high-ranking health position days before Joe Biden is sworn in as President of the United States.

Ms Verma, 50, submitted her resignation to President Donald Trump on Thursday as in charge of Medicare and Medicaid Services, a position she held in the Trump administration for the past four years. She was one of Trump’s confidants on health care issues.

She was also appointed by Trump in May of last year as one of the key members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force that US President Donald Trump set up to combat the deadly disease.

She said in a tweet on Friday: “As the Trump administration nears its end, I have submitted my formal resignation and I am preparing to hand over the keys to the next administration official next week.”

In her three-page resignation letter she posted on Twitter, she said, “The actions that CMS have taken in their entirety over the past four years will revolutionize healthcare for future generations and transform healthcare for every American patient. They represent a true turning point and will leave a lasting imprint on our country. “. Recruiting CMS’s accomplishments over the past four years, she said, “Serving the American people with the talented and dedicated staff at CMS for nearly four years has been an honor that I will always be grateful for.”

Her resignation will take effect on January 20, the day Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States.

It is the longest serving administrator in CMS history.

Mrs. Verma was born in the United States. But her parents immigrated to the United States from Punjab. Her husband, who is also a doctor, has his origins in Patna, Bihar.

She said the CMS has never wavered in its eagerness to challenge the failed status quo, and from the start, this department’s problem-solving culture has pervaded.

“This culture has enabled me to think creatively and act boldly in shaping the agenda of the agency, confident that no good idea will be put off by it because it upsets the apple wagon or makes the wrong interest group unhappy.

“For the lasting benefit of our country, she never hesitated in this determination to reorient the healthcare system to those who should have been the focus all along: the sick.”

Mrs. Verma visited India a few years ago.

“It was really important for me to share India with my children as well. I wanted them to see where they came from and meet a lot of their relatives,” she said, adding that modern communication tools have reduced distances. .

“In the past we were trying to go during the summer, over the years it got harder and harder, but we really appreciate that technology has made it a lot easier,” she told PTI in an interview in June 2019.

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