CMS Names Mark Plaugher Acting CIO as Patrick Newbold Departs

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Chief Information Officer Patrick Newbold is scheduled to leave the agency on November 27, 2026, after two years at CMS and more than seven years in public service. Newbold’s departure was confirmed in an internal email reported by Nextgov/FCW and by Newbold to FedScoop. He did not disclose his next destination. The message emphasized continuity of mission: “The work we are doing to strengthen cybersecurity, modernize critical systems, responsibly advance AI, and deliver reliable technology services across CMS is too important to lose momentum.” For contractors, the change is a leadership transition, not an announced shift in acquisition requirements or a new solicitation.

Mark Plaugher, CMS Information Systems Group director, is set to become acting CIO until the agency identifies a permanent successor. Plaugher began a detail to the CMS Office of Information Technology on November 2, giving the agency several weeks to prepare for the handoff. He has more than 15 years of CMS experience in information technology-related roles, according to the cited reporting. The transition also follows other leadership changes in the office: Brian Peltier recently became deputy director after more than two decades at the Social Security Administration, and Shauntia Bell became director of CMS’ Enterprise Systems Solutions Group. Contractors should therefore monitor governance and program communications across the office, while treating the acting appointment as an interim arrangement rather than evidence of a particular policy or procurement decision.

Newbold’s tenure included a hybrid, multi-cloud environment that lets CMS select cloud services based on mission fit, modernization efforts, and the integration of artificial intelligence tools into the workforce. Reporting says Newbold oversaw $850 million in IT savings. He also said roughly 80% of CMS employees and contractors used AI weekly and had access to 100 ready-to-use AI assistants, including the agency’s “CMS Chat.” These figures describe adoption and savings reported during his tenure; they do not, by themselves, establish future spending levels, contract demand, or a specific recompete. They do, however, give vendors relevant context for articulating how their services can support secure, reliable operations and demonstrable improvements within existing CMS priorities.

Newbold’s stated approach places outcomes ahead of technology labels. “Instead of leading with AI, we’re going back and we’re leading with outcomes. And if it just so happens that AI is helping meet those outcomes, that’s a good thing,” he said at a September health IT summit. One example he cited was a goal of reducing employee onboarding time from 60 days to 15 days. FedScoop also reported that CMS established an internal forum called Tech Pulse to help facilitate an outcomes-focused approach. At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), other senior technology positions remain in acting or vacant status: David Hong is acting department CIO and top AI official, Steve Warren is acting CIO at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the department’s chief technology officer role remains vacant. This broader context reinforces the value of transition-ready documentation and measurable performance commitments, but does not establish that CMS priorities or requirements have changed.

• Newbold’s last day at CMS is November 27, 2026; he has not announced where he is going next.
• Mark Plaugher is expected to serve as acting CIO while CMS identifies a permanent successor; his detail began November 2.
• Plaugher has more than 15 years of CMS experience in IT-related positions, according to the reporting.
• Newbold’s tenure included a hybrid, multi-cloud environment, AI integration, and reported oversight of $850 million in IT savings.
• Newbold reported that about 80% of CMS employees and contractors used AI weekly and had access to 100 ready-to-use AI assistants.
• CMS’s stated technology focus includes cybersecurity, critical-system modernization, responsible AI, and reliable services; vendors should connect capabilities to outcomes in these areas.
• A cited process goal was to shorten onboarding from 60 days to 15 days, illustrating the agency’s emphasis on measurable results.
• Recent CMS IT leadership changes also include Brian Peltier as deputy director and Shauntia Bell as Enterprise Systems Solutions Group director.
• HHS leadership context includes acting department CIO David Hong, acting CDC CIO Steve Warren, and a vacant HHS chief technology officer position.
• Contractors should maintain clear transition plans, operational documentation, and outcome-based performance evidence; no new procurement or requirements change is announced.