The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It administers Medicare, the federal health coverage program for older and disabled people, and oversees Medicaid, which it runs together with the states. CMS works with hospitals, insurers and other parts of the health care system on the quality and efficiency of care, and its coverage and payment rules reach across the broader health care market.
Much of the work is policy and program analysis, insurance and benefit oversight, actuarial and data analysis of health spending, auditing and program integrity, and the information technology behind large claims and payment systems. The issues staff handle are national in scope.
Through HHS, employees can volunteer for temporary assignments that support responses to humanitarian emergencies or other department priorities involving health, safety and security threats.