Clock ticks on recess-appointed Medicare official

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick may be serving out his time against a ticking clock, The Washington Post reports.

Berwick took the job of director of CMS in July of last year, getting a recess appointment from President Obama while the Senate was out on break. But the Senate has yet to confirm the pediatrician from Massachusetts and the newspaper says the odds of it ever happening are slim, given intense Republican opposition. If Berwick is not confirmed, his term will end in December.