Office of Legislation

Rebekah Armstrong serves as Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where she provides strategic counsel to agency leadership and helps coordinate policy, operations, and organizational priorities across the agency. Prior to assuming this role, Rebekah served as Director of the CMS Office of Legislation, where she led the agency's congressional engagement and legislative strategy. She brings more than 16 years of experience spanning the executive branch, Capitol Hill, and the private sector.

Before joining CMS, Rebekah was a Senior Adviser for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). She previously served as Vice President of Federal Affairs at America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), where she led advocacy on federal health policy issues. Earlier in her career, Rebekah served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as Associate Director of Policy in the Office of the Vice President. Rebekah also held several health policy and legislative positions in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Maria Martino is the Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Legislation (OL). OL is the focal point at CMS for legislative policy, congressional relations, and coordination of GAO/OIG engagements regarding Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and private health insurance issues. This work includes analyzing congressional legislation, preparing senior CMS leadership for Congressional Committee hearings and meetings with members of Congress, responding to Congressional inquiries, coordinating GAO/OIG engagements, and working with CMS program components to develop the Administration’s legislative proposals.

Maria has more than 30 years of federal service, including over 20 years serving in various positions in CMS, including as Special Assistant to the CMS Administrator and as the Director of the Congressional Affairs Group in OL where she provided direction to and supervision of a team managing customer service and relationships with 535 Members of Congress regarding Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and private health insurance programs.  Prior to returning to CMS in 2007,  Maria was an Assistant Director of Medicare Payment Policy at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), where she focused primarily on Medicare inpatient and outpatient issues.  Maria began her government career as a Presidential Management Fellow in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).

Maria received a Master of Science (MS) degree in Public Management and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Political Science from LeMoyne College, Syracuse NY.

• Provides leadership and executive direction within CMS for legislative planning to address the Administration's agenda.
• Tracks, evaluates and develops provisions of annual legislative proposals for Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), private health insurance programs, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and related statutes affecting health care financing, health insurance, quality, and access in concert with CMS components, the Department and the Office of Management and Budget.
• Advances the legislative policy process through analysis, review and development of health care initiatives and issues.
• Develops the long-range legislative plans for CMS in collaboration with the CMS Centers, Offices, and the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
• Participates with other CMS components in the development of CMS policy, including implementing regulations and administrative actions.
• Manages pro-actively CMS' response in times of heightened congressional oversight of CMS in collaboration with the Centers, Offices, and COO. Manages, coordinates and develops policies for responding to congressional inquiries.
• Coordinates activities with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation (ASL) and serves as the ASL's principal contact point on legislative and congressional relations.
• In collaboration with CMS Centers, Offices, and the COO, provides technical assistance, consultation and information services to congressional committees and individual members of Congress on the Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and private health insurance programs, new CMS initiatives, and pertinent legislation.
• In collaboration with the CMS Centers, Offices, and COO, provides technical, analytical, advisory, and information services to CMS' components, the Department, the White House, OMB, other government agencies, private organizations and the general public on CMS legislation.
• Tracks and reports on legislation relating to CMS programs and maintains legislative reference library.
• Coordinates CMS' participation in congressional hearings, including preparation of testimony and briefing materials, and covers all other congressional hearings on matters of interest to CMS except Appropriations Committee hearings specifically on the appropriation budget.
• Serves as the principle CMS contact and lead for all audits, which includes coordinating all aspects of the audit - writing and clearing responses, leading meetings with auditors, compiling document requests, and communicating with the auditors.