Mark McClellan

CMS administrator Mark McClellan tells the Los Angeles Times that Medicare will launch a new initiative stressing preventative care in 2007. "If you take a big step back and look at Medicare spending, 90%-plus of what we are spending is going for the complications of chronic disease," McClellan told the paper. The agency recently added a free "Welcome to Medicare" physical available to all new arrivals in the program. The program has seen limited success so far: only 2 percent of …

CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said this week he wants a change in Medicare's reimbursement policy in situations where "never events" are involved. Under the proposed rules changes, Medicare would no longer pay for treatment in cases where such mistakes are made. "Never events" is the industry term for the most serious medical mistakes, the errors that quite frankly should never happen in a thousand years. The list typically includes wrong site surgeries, wrong patient surgeries, …

"We've seen a real surge of interest" says CMS head Mark McClellan. Monday was the deadline for seniors to sign up for Medicare Part D without facing a penalty. And many appear to have taken advantage of the opportunity. McClellan told the Associated Press that between 40,000 and 50,000 people were on the CMS website at any given time yesterday looking for last minute information on the benefit.

- see this AP …

A federal probe found that operators on Medicare Part D hotlines often get it wrong--providing accurate information to callers only 40 percent of the time in some instances. GAO investigators called the Medicare hotline 500 times in late January and early February. The review was requested by congressional Democrats, who are pointing at the report as evidence that the benefit's startup phase was mishandled. CMS administrator Mark McClellan disputed the findings, noting that the test took …

The World Health Care Congress featured several panels discussing some of
the key trends in healthcare. CMS Administrator Mark McClellan gently
sparred with Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt over pricing and coverage.
They agreed that pricing controls on pharmaceuticals were both unlikely and
probably unworkable. There was much less agreement on coverage. Medicare
currently covers expensive medications that are not covered in other
countries, and Reinhardt suggested that …

A new study finds that Medicare Part D restricts the choice of drugs available to participants in some cases. The research, which looks at California plans, finds that the they offer participants a generally narrower selection of medications than they would be eligible for under Medi-Cal, the state program for low-income residents. The study was conducted by Washington-based Avalere Health for the California Health Care Foundation.

In a press conference yesterday, CMS administrator …

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 …

A Harris/Wall Street Journal poll found that the majority of seniors who have enrolled in Medicare Part D so far, found choosing a plan 'difficult' and interpreting the benefits equally hard. The majority of respondents (60 percent) said choosing a plan was difficult for them. About the same number (63 percent) said interpreting the plan benefits offered to them was an issue. Overall, once enrolled in a plan, most said they were happy with the service they've received during the …

CMS administrator Dr. Mark McClellan defended the new prescription drug benefit in testimony before Congress on Wednesday. McClellan told the Senate Finance Committee that the government is looking for ways to simplify Medicare Part D to make the program easier for participants to understand. McClellan faced criticism from Democrats who said the benefit's problems reflect a lack of planning on the part of organizers. McClellan resisted calls for Congress to intervene, saying that most …

Legislation that would have pushed back the registration deadline for Medicare Part D until December has been defeated in the Senate. The amendment, proposed by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), won a 52-45 majority, but failed to pass under Senate rules requiring a clear majority. The legislation's supporters had argued that the widely-reported problems with the benefit's rollout make an extension necessary. Seniors have until May 15 to sign up for the benefit or face penalties.

- read …