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Medicare & Medicare News
McClellan Says He is Leaving Post at Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services
 CMS
Deputy Leslie Norwalk 'obvious candidate' for acting administrator
September 5, 2006 - Rumors were rampant over the
weekend that Mark McClellan would resign soon as head of the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services. Although there has been no official
announcement, he has confirmed to the Associated Press he will leave the
office within five weeks, according to a report in KaiserNet.org.
(See bio
below news report.)
 McClellan Announces Plans To Resign Position as CMS
Administrator
CMS Administrator Mark
McClellan announced on Tuesday that he will resign, the
AP/San Francisco Chronicle
reports. He said he will leave the agency in about five weeks and likely
will take a position with a think tank where he could focus on ways to
improve the U.S. health care system.
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He said, "It's just time. We've
gotten a lot accomplished, and I'm very confident about the track the
agency is on" (Freking, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/5).
"This was a
hard decision, because this is the most exciting and rewarding place
that anyone could ever work," McClellan said, adding, "But I've been in
government service for much longer than my family and I had ever
expected or prepared for, and after almost six years in this
administration plus service in the previous administration as well, I'm
looking forward to more dinners at home with Steph and our daughters"
(Lee,
Washington Post, 9/5).
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Story Update |
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President Praises Resigning Head of Medicare,
Medicaid
Wide range of opinions on aftermath of McClellan
departure
September 6, 2006 President Bush issued a
statement late yesterday saying Mark McClellan, who is resigning as
administration of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services "was
critical in the successful implementation of the Medicare prescription
drug benefit -- the most important health care reform in 40 years."
KaiserNet.org tracked down other reaction and speculation, too, in the
daily report today. Read more...
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The
Dallas Morning News on
Saturday first reported speculation that McClellan would leave the
position (Hillman, Dallas Morning News, 9/2). McClellan -- a medical
doctor and economist -- was
sworn in as CMS administrator
in March 2004, replacing Tom Scully.
He was
FDA commissioner from 2002
through 2004, prior to which he was a member of the
White House Council of Economic Advisers
and a senior health policy aide to President Bush (Lee,
Washington Post, 9/4). He
previously taught economics and medicine at
Stanford University.
Implications
As CMS administrator, McClellan oversees Medicaid and Medicare -- which
together provide health benefits for about 90 million U.S. residents --
and manages a federal budget of about $600 billion (Zhang, Wall Street
Journal, 9/5).
One of his primary responsibilities during his tenure at
CMS was administering the implementation of the Medicare prescription
drug benefit, which began in January (Washington Post, 9/4).
His
resignation coincides with contract negotiations between Medicare and
the private insurance companies that sponsor Medicare prescription drug
plans, the
New York Times reports. In
addition, his departure comes "amid the midterm election campaigns,
during which his handling of the new Medicare drug benefit has become an
issue," according to the Times.
Another "big piece of unfinished
business" is the proposed cuts in Medicare physician payment rates,
which are scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2007, if Congress does not
take action to stop the cuts, the Times reports. McClellan has proposed
a 5.1% cut for 2007, with similar reductions in later years.
Possible Successors
CMS Deputy Administrator Leslie Norwalk "is an obvious candidate to
serve as acting administrator," although other officials also are being
consider for the post, according to a White House official, the Times
reports (Pear, New York Times, 9/5). Herb Kuhn, director of the Center
for Medicare Management at CMS, is also a potential nominee,
CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard,
CQ HealthBeat, 9/4).
Comments
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said, "He'll be missed by the
president and the entire administration" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle,
9/5).
John Rother, policy director for
AARP, said, "His major
responsibility has been to implement the Medicare Modernization Act and
the drug benefit, which I think he has done extremely well." Rother
added, "Obviously, he has a very bright future, and I'm sure he's got
other options that are very attractive," noting that "a lot of people
who know him thought that this would be a good year for him to move on"
(Washington Post, 9/4).
Chip Kahn, president of the
Federation of American Hospitals,
said, "He's done what he's signed on to do and in impressive fashion."
Kahn added that the Bush administration's implementation of quality of
care measures in the hospital system "is taking place and is set in
motion" (CQ HealthBeat, 9/4).
Robert Hayes, president of the
Medicare Rights Center, said
McClellan "was always on message." Hayes added, "He said the new [drug
benefit] was running fine when the roof was caving in. But I do respect
him. He was responsive when we brought individual cases of hardship to
his attention" (New York Times, 9/5).
Broadcast Coverage
NPR's "Morning
Edition" on Tuesday reported on McClellan's resignation
(Montagne, "Morning Edition," NPR, 9/5). The complete segment is
available
online in RealPlayer.
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White House Biography
Mark McClellan, MD PhD
Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Following
Senate confirmation by unanimous voice vote, Dr. Mark
McClellan was sworn in as Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services on March 25, 2004. Dr.
McClellan previously served as Commissioner of the Food and
Drug Administration beginning in November 2002, following
Senate confirmation by unanimous consent. During 2001 and
2002, Dr. McClellan served in the White House as a Member of
the Presidents Council of Economic Advisers, where he
advised on domestic economic issues and was a senior policy
director for health care and related economic issues. From
1998-99, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
for Economic Policy, where he supervised economic analysis
and policy development on a wide range of domestic policy
issues.
Dr. McClellan is on leave from Stanford University, where
he was Associate Professor of Economics and Associate
Professor of Medicine at Stanford Medical School. At
Stanford Medical School, Dr. McClellan was a practicing
internist and Director of the Program on Health Outcomes
Research. He was also a Research Associate of the National
Bureau of Economic Research and a Visiting Scholar at the
American Enterprise Institute. Additionally, he was a Member
of the National Cancer Policy Board of the National Academy
of Sciences, Associate Editor of the Journal of Health
Economics, and co-Principal Investigator of the Health and
Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal study of the health
and economic well-being of older Americans.
Dr. McClellans research studies have addressed measuring
and improving the quality of health care, the economic and
policy factors influencing medical treatment decisions and
health outcomes, estimating the effects of medical
treatments, technological change in health care and its
consequences for health and medical expenditures, and the
relationship between health and economic well-being. He has
twice received the Arrow Award for Outstanding Research in
Health Economics, and he is a Member of the Institute of
Medicine. He earned his MD degree from the Harvard-MIT
Division of Health Sciences and Technology and his PhD in
Economics from MIT. A board-certified Internal Medicine
physician, Dr. McClellan completed his residency training in
internal medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston,
Massachusetts.
Dr. McClellan is married to Stephanie and has twin
five-year old daughters.
www.cms.gov
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