McClellan prescribes HSAs for Medicare

In an interview, CMS head Mark McClellan said the White House is looking at extending the system of health savings accounts to Medicare. Adding private accounts to the current system, of course, would amount to a fundamental change to the government health program for the elderly and disabled and is likely to spark opposition from groups opposed to privatization and taxpayers who can do basic math and are concerned about the program's costs.

McClellan also said Medicare Part D will become more manageable next year as the number of companies offering prescription drug plans falls. McClellan told the AP that market realities will help bring order to what has been an unruly process. "I think you'll see significantly fewer choices available next year," McClellan said, "but they will be choices dictated by the market, by what consumers want." The Medicare administrator also said the deadline for the new Medicare Part D benefit will "probably not" need to be extended, despite suggestions from critics to the contrary. He revealed that 5.5 million people have signed up for the new drug benefit through mid-February.

- see this article from the San Diego Union Tribune