HHS chief seeks new name, image for Medicare agency

In his bid to change the way the Health Care Financing Administration is perceived, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Monday he is considering changing its name to the "Medicare and Medicaid Association," or MAMA, for short.

"We need to change its attitude to try and find a way [for it] to say 'Yes,'" Thompson said at an American Hospital Association membership meeting of the much maligned agency that runs medical payment programs for the elderly and the poor.

Thompson said HCFA needs to improve its communication skills with the regulated industry but, at the same time, Congress needs to recognize that it cannot meet its responsibilities without more funding. Thompson noted that HCFA's computer system was installed in 1970, and that it has antiquated bookkeeping systems.

Thompson is moving the secretary's offices to HCFA's headquarters in Baltimore for a week so he can run the agency personally, and plans to move administration of permits and waivers and responsibility for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to the Secretary's office.