News in brief - Sept. 24, 2007

"Sicko" well known, if not seen

Although only 4% of adults have seen "Sicko," Michael Moore's examination of the U.S. health system, another 42% had heard about the film, according to an Aug. 2-8 poll of 1,500 adults for the Kaiser Family Foundation. By comparison, 13% of those polled had seen Al Gore's global warming film, "An Inconvenient Truth," and an additional 48% had heard about that film.

Of those who had seen "Sicko," 54% said the film's central message is that the U.S. should have a free universal, government-financed health plan. Fifteen percent said the message is to keep our public/private system, 8% said the message is to have a market-driven system and 23% didn't know or didn't answer the question.

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Acting CMS chief named

Kerry Weems, whom President Bush picked to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will serve as CMS acting administrator until the Senate confirms his nomination to the permanent position.

In May, Bush tapped Weems to replace former CMS chief Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, who left the job in October. Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee said they would act on the nomination quickly, but they have given no indication as to when they will schedule a vote. Weems, a career employee of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, must be confirmed by the full Senate before taking the permanent post but can serve in the acting role indefinitely.

"Though his nomination is currently pending in the Senate, it is important that we have solid leadership in place now with the authority to head this critical agency," HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said in a statement.

CMS Acting Deputy Administrator Herb Kuhn, who since July has been the agency's highest ranking official, is now the permanent deputy administrator.

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