Marilyn Barbour Tavenner (born May 31, 1951) is the former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. She became Acting Administrator following the resignation of Dr. Donald M. Berwick in December 2011, after serving as the agency's Principal Deputy Administrator. Prior to her original appointment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, she served as Secretary of Health and Human Resources in the Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010. From 1981 to 2005, she was employed by Hospital Corporation of America, beginning as a nurse at Richmond, Virginia-based Johnston-Willis Hospital eventually becoming Chief Executive Officer of the hospital in 1993. In 2001, she became President of HCA's Central Atlantic Division, and was later appointed Group President of Outpatient Services before resigning from HCA in 2005. She earned B.S. in nursing and M.H.A. degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University.
