Michelle Snyder, the official who oversaw the creation of the problem-plagued HealthCare.gov website, is retiring.
In a statement on Monday, Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced Snyder's departure from the agency, saying she had originally planned to retire at the end of 2012 but had stayed on at Tavenner's request to help "with the challenges facing CMS in 2013."
As you may recall, Snyder, who is the chief operating officer at CMS, was the subject of an exchange between Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., during a congressional hearing in October about troubles with the Obamacare website. As we reported at the time:
"Blackburn pushed Sebelius to name 'who's responsible' for the crashing and other problems with the HealthCare.gov website. After some back-and-forth, Sebelius answered that Michelle Snyder, chief operating officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, runs a key unit.
" 'Michelle Snyder is the one responsible for this debacle?' Blackburn asked.
"After a moment, Sebelius responded with some edge to her voice, saying:
" 'Excuse me, congresswoman, Michelle Snyder is not responsible for the debacle. Hold me accountable for the debacle. I'm responsible.' "
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