WASHINGTON, DC — Many people approaching middle age have a mid-life crisis.  They may seek cosmetic changes – either in their name, by getting married or divorced, or in their physical appearance, with plastic surgery.  But just as the proverbial tiger can’t change its stripes, these reforms will never alter the inner self.

So, on taking office at an agency that has massive waste and mismanagement, what kind of reform does the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, pursue?  No kidding, he holds a contest to rename the 36 year-old Health Care Financing Administration — which oversees Medicare and Medicaid — because, “It’s hard to love something called HCFA.”  For wasting valuable time, political capital, and public money on an effort reminiscent of the old Soviet approach to government reform, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) names Tommy Thompson its Porker of the Month for July 2001.

HCFA is slated to spend $464 billion this year to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, and its strict regulations and bureaucratic red tape frustrate almost every individual or group with which it deals.  Doctors and hospitals know HCFA creates too many forms to fill out, takes too long to reimburse claims, and is highly restrictive.  Trust us: complaints about HCFA do not focus on its moniker.

Secretary Thompson hopes the new name will change HCFA’s bad image.  But HCFA needs a complete overhaul.  The agency, like a lot of middle-aged individuals, is confused and mismanaged.  It has long needed fundamental restructuring and reform to achieve modern business standards and improve accuracy and efficiency.  Last year alone, for example, HCFA made about $12 billion in improper payments.

Thompson’s view is that one “can’t change HCFA without changing the name.”  Though the service will be the same, now people will deal with the “Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”  Big whoop.

The name change has rightly sparked criticism from physicians and politicians.  “I’m not sure dressing up the pig makes it look like something other than a pig,” Medical Society of the District of Columbia President Stuart Seides said.  Former-House Speaker Newt Gingrich satirically added that, “If the agency is serious about transformation, it should be renamed TCMS, for 21^st Century Medicare System.  If the staff is not serious, and wants to change the name merely to put a happy face on it, then it should be HAPPY, for Health Administered Personally and Professionally for You.”  The name change’s cost in terms of reprinting all HCFA forms, stationery, booklets, information kits, etc. will run into the millions of dollars.  Whatever it costs, that money could have been spent better on healthcare for the needy.

For his superficial and wasteful attempt to perform cosmetic surgery on an agency with a well-earned bad image, instead of enacting fundamental reform, CAGW awards HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson its Porker of the Month Award for July 2001.

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government.  For more information, see CAGW's web site at www.cagw.org.