Medicare chief McClellan is stepping down
Dr. Mark McClellan , hand-picked by the Bush administration to oversee the most sweeping change in Medicare since the program began, yesterday confirmed speculation that he is resigning.
McClellan has served as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services since 2004, crisscrossing the nation to promote the new prescription drug plan known as Part D . Eight in 10 seniors in a recent poll said they like the new drug benefit, which took effect Jan. 1. But the dizzying array of plans administered by private insurers also caused confusion.
McClellan, a medical doctor, said that after he steps down in October he will spend more time with his 7-year-old twin daughters and will interview at such Washington, D.C.-based think tanks as the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution . For now, he remains on leave from Stanford University , where he held various roles.
He departs from his high-profile post on the eve of midterm elections that could give Democrats a majority in the US Senate , House of Representatives , or both. The potential political shift -- as out-of-pocket expenses rise sharply for millions of seniors covered by the drug plan -- could complicate the administration's ability to fill the key post.
A Democrat-led House could mire the new leader in ``hearing after hearing," predicted Drew Altman , president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation , which tracks health policy issues. The nonprofit group's surveys have found mixed emotions about Part D. ``It probably will be hard to fill the job with an outsider of great standing if the Democrats take control of the House, because it is not going to be a really fun job," Altman said.
McClellan denied that the timing of his resignation was tied to politics. ``I don't believe in that level of cynicism," he said, adding that he has testified at scores of congressional oversight hearings and predicted the next CMS administrator would too, ``no matter who is in control of Congress."
In fact, Senator Charles E. Grassley , Republican of Iowa , will hold a closed-door Senate Finance Committee hearing tomorrow for members to ask McClellan about a glitch that led to Part D beneficiaries being charged too much or too little for premiums and, for 230,000 beneficiaries, wrongly being refunded premiums.
But Grassley acknowledged that McClellan faced a formidable challenge in implementing the prescription drug plan. It ``was the federal program equivalent of a Mars landing," said Grassley, an author of the legislation that created the benefit. ``Dr. McClellan has worked to fix the problems."
US Representative Pete Stark , a member of the Ways and Means Health subcommittee , was less charitable. He pointed out the looming implication of the ``doughnut hole," a coverage gap that requires beneficiaries to pay 100 percent of their annual drug costs from $2,250 to $5,100. As the year winds down, more seniors will find themselves facing the coverage gap.
``Had he waited much longer, he would have found few employers willing to hire an ex-Bush administration official," said Stark, Democrat of California .
Diedtra Henderson can be reached at dhenderson@globe.com. 
