Robert Derzon

Robert Alan Derzon (December 30, 1930 – June 17, 2009) was an American health care professional who served as the first director of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the arm of the US federal government responsible for administering Medicare and Medicaid.

Early life and education Derzon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1953. He was awarded a master's degree from Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Business Administration in 1955, and earned a Master of Public Health in 1956 from the University of Minnesota.

Professional career Derzon served as associate director of New York University Medical Center from 1960 to 1966. Derzon served as the department's acting commissioner in 1970 after Terenzio's resignation.

President of the United States Jimmy Carter appointed Derzon to serve as the first head of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA, later called the CMS), an agency created in March 1977 with the responsibility for overseeing both Medicare, which provides health insurance for those over age 65, and Medicaid, which provides health insurance for the poor. The two programs had both been established in 1965, but had been operated independently until that point. Derzon's task was to address the soaring costs of hospital care by reducing abuse and fraud in the two programs, implementing efforts to reduce costs that were controversial.

Secretary Califano fired Derzon from his post heading the HCFA in September 1978, citing Derzon's failure to progress quickly enough with the restructuring of Medicare and Medicaid. Derzon was willing to stand up to Califano's proposals and tell him what wouldn't work, a stance that Califano did not like and that led to what were described as "fiery clashes" between the two. Leonard D. Schaeffer was named as Derzon's replacement.

Personal A resident of Mill Valley, California, Derzon died of swine flu at age 78 on June 17, 2009, while visiting a friend in Orangeville, Ontario. He is survived by one daughter and two sons and nine grandchildren. His wife had died in 2002 after 46 years of marriage.