KERRIGAN IN THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Republicans Must Rein in Wasteful Obama-Era Agency

By SBE Council at 25 March, 2026, 10:03 pm

There's another out-of-control federal agency creating massive red tape and costs (surprise!). Mission creep at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is wreaking havoc and undermining innovation. How did DOGE miss this? As SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan explains in a Washington Examiner Op-Ed, the CMMI, a creation of Obamacare, is doing the exact opposite of what it is charged with doing. Kerrigan writes:

"The irony is that this agency was supposed to be all about supporting 'innovation,' yet it is undermining the very activity needed to solve our toughest healthcare challenges…. CMMI is generating more waste rather than reducing it, as well as impeding the progress and innovative outcomes that come from private-sector risk-taking and investment."

Kerrigan adds, according to the Congressional Budget Office, CMMI lost $5.4 billion instead of delivering projected savings and only six of more than 50 models it 'tested' avoided increasing costs or reducing care quality. While the preferred action would be to shut the failed agency down, Kerrigan concludes that Republicans need to restore oversight and place limits on the scope of CMMI experiments and its mandatory nationwide demonstrations.

Read the Op-Ed here .