Trump nominates 2nd Indian woman to top administration post

November 29, 2016

Washington, Nov 29: US President-elect Donald Trump today nominated a second Indian-American woman to a top administration position, putting her in charge of a federal agency within the health department as part of a "dream team" which he said would transform America's healthcare system.

"I am pleased to nominate (Dr) Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services," Trump said in a statement.

The announcement came along with Trump's nomination of Congressman Tom Price as his Health and Human Services Secretary.

A leading expert in the country on Medicare and Medicaid, Verma would serve as Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems. Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans," Trump said.

"I am honoured to be nominated by President-elect Trump today," said Verma, who met Trump in New York last week.

"I look forward to helping him tackle our nation's daunting healthcare problems in a responsible and sustainable way," she said.

Her nomination comes days after Indian-American Nikki Haley was named as US envoy to the United Nations by Trump.

Haley had scripted history by becoming the first-ever Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level post in any US administration.

Verma currently is the President, CEO and founder of SVC, Inc, a national health policy consulting company.

Based in Indianapolis, Verma has supported Indiana through development of the historic programme since its inception in 2007, from development of the enabling legislation, negotiating the financing plan with the state's hospital association, developing the federal waiver, supporting federal negotiations and leading the implementation of the programme, including the operational design.

For more than 20 years, she has worked extensively on a variety of policy and strategic projects involving Medicaid, insurance, and public health, working with Governors' offices, state medicaid agencies, state health departments, state departments of insurance, as well as the federal government, private companies and foundations.

"Verma has extensive experience redesigning Medicaid programmes in several states. Verma is the architect of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), the nation's first consumer directed Medicaid programme under Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana and then-Governor Pence's HIP 2.0 waiver proposal," said the presidential transition team.

Verma received her Master's degree in Public Health, with a concentration in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University, and her Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences from the University of Maryland.

She served as the state of Indiana's health reform lead following the passage of Obamacare in 2010.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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