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Medicare, Medicaid News
Leslie Norwalk Takes Over as Acting Administrator of
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
 Out-going
administrator Mark McClellan says he improved quality of care in
Medicare
October 16, 2006 Leslie V. Norwalk became the
acting administrator for the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services
today, as Dr. Mark McClellan, left the office this weekend as he had
announced on September 5 that he would do. Norwalk, an attorney, has
been serving CMS as deputy administrator.
The official biography of the Dayton, Ohio, native,
said she has directed "the complex and demanding task of implementing
the hundreds of changes to be made under the Medicare Modernization Act,
including the new Medicare drug benefit."
Herb B. Kuhn has been named the new acting deputy.
Prior to serving the Bush Administration, Norwalk
practiced law in the Washington, D.C. office of Epstein Becker & Green,
P.C. where she advised clients on a variety of health policy matters.
She also served in the first Bush administration in the White House
Office of Presidential Personnel.
She earned a juris doctor degree from the George
Mason University School of Law, where she was a Deans Scholar and an
editor of the George Mason Law Review. She earned a bachelors degree,
cum laude, in economics and international relations from Wellesley
College.
CMS has the second-largest budget outlay of the
Federal Government, directly responsible for $1 out of every $3 spent on
healthcare in the United States.
The organization insures approximately 25% of the
population of the United States (more than 84 million beneficiaries)
including the elderly, disabled, and some of the lowest income
individuals in the country. CMS processes over one billion claims each
year and it contracts with approximately one million providers.
 Former
CMS Administrator McClellan Touts Lower Projected Cost of Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit
Mark McClellan, who left his position as
CMS
administrator this weekend, said he believes his greatest accomplishment
during his tenure was improving quality of care in Medicare,
CQ HealthBeat
reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 10/13).
 McClellan
announced his resignation on Sept. 5, saying that he wants to spend more
time with his family and that he probably will join a think tank or take
a position in academia (Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report, 9/26).
In a meeting with reporters on Friday, McClellan
said, "If we want to get the best possible care for our beneficiaries at
the lowest possible cost to them and the taxpayers, we've got to be more
proactive in supporting quality care and paying for what we want."
McClellan said he feels that implementing quality
of care measures was a greater accomplishment than his role overseeing
the start of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, adding, "What's
more important for the program is ... moving away from a focus on just
paying bills."
He said the goal of the program should be
"better-coordinated, prevention-oriented, personalized care at a lower
overall cost" (CQ HealthBeat, 10/13). He added, "We have got to move in
this kind of direction to have a sustainable, innovative, affordable
health care system" (Lee,
Washington Post,
10/14).
McClellan will be joining the AEI-Brookings Joint
Center for Regulatory Studies as a visiting senior fellow (AEI-Brookings
release, 10/16).
Lower Costs
McClellan said the drug benefit is on track to cost about $30 billion
this year, much less than the initial estimate of $43 billion. He said
the projected 2007 cost of $48 billion likely will be revised downward
as well. McClellan said the lower cost is the result of
lower-than-expected premiums and enrollment and slowing growth in drug
spending.
About 60% of prescriptions filled under the drug
benefit were for generic drugs, less than the national average of 52%,
McClellan said. He added that he is pleased that independent surveys
found that about 80% of beneficiaries are satisfied with their Medicare
drug plans (Washington Post, 10/14).
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Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
September 23, 2006 The U.S.A. may not need to
adopt legislation establishing a national health care plan it may just
happen. A new report says the nation's hospitals billed for $790 billion
in 2004, with 60 percent paid by either the federal or state
governments.