Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

The mission of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is to assure health care security for beneficiaries. CMS's goals are to:

• Protect and improve beneficiary health and satisfaction.
• Foster appropriate and predictable payments and high quality care.
• Promote understanding of CMS programs among beneficiaries, the health care community, and the public.
• Promote the fiscal integrity of CMS programs and be an accountable steward of public funds.
• Foster excellence in the design and administration of CMS programs.
• Provide leadership in the broader health care marketplace to improve health.

CMS is a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. CMS administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, helping to pay the medical bills for more than 75 million beneficiaries. CMS is also charged with the implementation of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), which established quality standards for all laboratory testing to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of patient test results regardless of where the test was performed.

Partnership Activities

CMS collaborates with CDC on Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign, a national education effort to inform men and women aged 50 years and older about the importance of colorectal cancer screening for the early detection and prevention of the disease. Through the use of print, television, and radio Public Service Announcements and other informational materials, the campaign also seeks to educate older Americans about colorectal cancer screening Medicare benefits. More information about the colorectal cancer screening benefits provided by the Medicare program may be found on the CMS Web site. CDC and CMS also collaborate with the National Cancer Institute to analyze and report nationally representative data on the physician and health system factors that may influence screening and diagnostic follow-up in community practice.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21244-1850
Toll-free: (877) 267-2323
Telephone: (410) 786-3000
www.cms.hhs.gov