CMS News
| For Immediate Release: | Contact: |
| Monday, November 26, 2001 | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
For questions about Medicare please call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. |
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COBB COUNTY, GA., RESIDENT HONORED FOR WORK WITH MEDICAID PROGRAM
A Cobb County, Ga., resident has received an award for his outstanding work with the Medicaid program to ensure beneficiaries get high-quality medical care.
Renard Murray, who lives in Mableton, was selected by Tom Scully, Administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as employee of the month for November. CMS, formerly the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), administers Medicaid and Medicare.
A two-year HCFA employee, Murray works as a health insurance specialist in the Medicaid Operations branch in the agency's Atlanta regional office, which has about 200 employees. His prime responsibility is determining the Medicaid eligibility of beneficiaries. Before joining HCFA in October 1999, he worked with the Social Security Administration (SSA) for 14 years, eventually becoming a district manager in Louisiana.
Medicaid, a joint federal-state health insurance program, provides for medical and long-term care services to certain low-income individuals, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Each state administers its Medicaid program within the general requirements of federal law and regulations. States and the federal government share the cost of the program.
"I congratulate Mr. Murray for helping enroll qualified Medicaid beneficiaries in the Southeast," CMS Administrator Tom Scully said. "He also strives to make sure these individuals in the Medicaid program receive top quality health care."
Murray works closely with state officials in the Atlanta region on Medicaid topics, including administering federal guidelines and policies related to eligibility. States in the region are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Murray also is involved with implementing the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. Approved by Congress in 1999, the law encourages people with disabilities to work without fear of losing their Medicare, Medicaid or similar health benefits.
Murray advises states on using grants that help people with disabilities become and stay competitively employed. He also has worked with states to design programs that cover the working disabled and beneficiaries eligible for the Medicare Savings Program.
"Since coming to work with us in 1999 from the Social Security Administration's district office in New Orleans, Renard Murray has proved himself to be a very valuable employee and is truly committed and dedicated to the agency's beneficiaries and other customers," Rose Crum-Johnson, CMS regional administrator in Atlanta, said.
"My success in CMS is attributed to my ability to work as a team with my colleagues and diligence in helping our customers," Murray said.
An Ama, La., native, Murray lived there until he moved to the Atlanta area two years ago. He graduated from Hahnville High School in Boutte, La., in 1979.
Murray received a bachelor's degree in 1984 from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans and a master's degree in organizational management in 1999 from the University of Phoenix. He is currently pursing a doctor of management degree in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix.
