Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, who previously headed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is on leave as a core faculty member of CHP/PCOR, has become the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency that spends $480 billion annually and regulates nearly every sector of the nation's healthcare system.

An internist and economist whose research while at Stanford focused on patterns of care within the Medicare program, McClellan assumed the top job at the agency on March 25. He was nominated for the post by President Bush in late February and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in mid-March.

CHP/PCOR director Alan Garber -- who has known the new CMS administrator since he (McClellan) was a medical student and graduate student in economics -- said he believes McClellan has a uniquely broad perspective that will serve him well at CMS, because of his understanding of clinical concerns, economic factors and medical care data.

The core of McClellan's research has been the analysis of Medicare claims, Garber noted; "Few people have dedicated as much effort to studying medical care patterns and expenditures of elderly Medicare beneficiaries as Mark has." He has also conducted research on a broad range of other health policy topics, including medical inflation rates, Medicare expenditures, the effectiveness of treatments for cardiac disease in elderly Americans, and the impact of tort reform on healthcare costs due to "defensive medicine."

Garber added that "among his strengths is a history of working with members of both parties." That ability will be an important factor as McClellan leads the implementation of the Bush Administration's Medicare bill -- a complex and expansive piece of legislation that includes the much-debated Medicare prescription drug benefit.

McClellan is only the second physician to head the federal agency for Medicare and Medicaid (previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration) as a permanent administrator.

At the time of McClellan's nomination, Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson stated that "at the FDA and throughout his career, Dr. McClellan has served the nation admirably while demonstrating exemplary leadership that will continue our efforts to build a strong and responsive CMS. His comprehensive understanding of the American healthcare system and his dedication to public service make Dr. McClellan an ideal choice to lead CMS at this important time."

Prior to becoming FDA commissioner in November 2002, McClellan served as associate professor of medicine at the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research; former head of PCOR's program on medical outcomes research; and a core faculty member of the Center for Health Policy, as well as associate professor of economics at Stanford. During 2001 and 2002, he served in the White House as a senior policy director for health care and related economic issues. In the Clinton administration, he worked on domestic policy as a deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury in 1998-1999.

McClellan received his PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his MD from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.