CMS Leadership

Michelle Snyder is the Deputy Chief Operating Officer (DCOO) for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). With the COO, she oversees daily operations and staff of nearly 5,000, providing leadership in the implementation of Agency-wide program initiatives in the Central and Regional Offices.   Ms. Snyder is also responsible for integrating Affordable Care Act (ACA) driven work into existing CMS business activities wherever possible while standing up new programs and activities required by the ACA.   Reaching out across agency lines, she has provided executive leadership for various CMS’ improvement initiatives for the purpose of promoting excellence in operations.  She is responsible for creating the concept of ‘One CMS’ geared towards enhancing more strategic tactical and coordinated efforts focused on achieving discrete communication goals and outcomes. 

Michelle has partnered effectively and strategically with the Department around HIT priorities and initiatives including EHR and PHR projects, championed the Agency’s Resource Analysis Project to ensure employees are appropriately carrying out the CMS mission, and is working to ensure the seamless transition of the Medicare Fee-for-Service workloads to a competitive environment to achieve long term savings to the Medicare Trust Funds.  Ms. Snyder is leading the Agency’s effort to build a new IT structure for CMS for the purpose of changing health and healthcare in the U.S.  This includes efforts to reduce costs of operations and improving business intelligence to provide improved care for our Nation’s beneficiaries.

In her role as Acting Deputy Administrator for CMS, Michelle continuously fostered collaboration among CMS senior leadership to ensure that the strategic goals and initiatives of CMS were implemented and managed successfully.  Formerly, she was CMS’ Director of the Office of Financial Management and the Agency’s first Chief Financial Officer. Under her leadership, the CMS achieved its first clean audit opinion, and developed its first comprehensive strategic plan on program integrity. During that time she also oversaw one of CMS’ most significant efforts involving the integration of its financial and accounting systems to better manage Medicare Trust Funds.

Michelle’s executive positions have spanned both administrative and program areas. At the Health Resources and Services Administration, she provided executive direction and leadership to the National Organ Donation Collaborative that in one year doubled the rate of organ donation in this country; expanded the number of health centers in this country that serve the Nation’s most vulnerable citizens; and oversaw the Hospital Preparedness program under which states strengthened the ability of hospitals and other health care facilities to respond to bioterrorism attacks, infectious disease outbreaks, and natural disasters.

Michelle has also been a manager in the HHS budget office and had assignments with the Office of Management and Budget, Congress, the Social Security Administration, and as a management consultant in the private sector.

She holds advanced degrees in Clinical Psychology and Legal Studies and Administration. Michelle has received numerous awards and honors including the Presidential Meritorious Service Award and the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executives, which is selectively given annually to only 50 Senior Executive Service managers in the U.S. Federal government.