Mark McClellan Quotations

We've seen enrollment continue at a steady pace, faster than what we saw before the late December surge.

Many people were expecting significant reduction in retiree coverage, which just hasn't happened.

Since January, we've seen a steady, increasing rate of enrollment, and we expect to continue seeing that until May 15.

Our surveys show that, 5-to-1, people are very satisfied with the program. For people who have had problems, we're finding the problems and fixing them.

People need to start by understanding what kind of coverage they have now.

The alternative is having one drug plan that does not reflect what some want, and that costs more and offers less coverage than what is available now,

We're definitely going to be ahead of the January predictions.

We will reduce the wait times for beneficiaries and pharmacists in order to avoid any beneficiary leaving the pharmacy without prescriptions.

When you look at the people who say they don't plan to enroll, it's mainly because they already have coverage. They have coverage through a former employer or through a Medicare health plan, and that's just great.

We expect the states to work with us and agree to turn off their Medicaid reimbursement systems and return to the Medicare system by Feb. 15. But we may be able to extend that date for certain specific states.

We're very much on track for meeting that goal.

There had been predictions that employers would drop drug coverage, but that's proven wrong.

We are supporting that effort through modifications in our payment system by not following the usual and standard Medicare and Medicaid rules,

Every day we're seeing more and more people get their prescription drugs smoothly, and we have other steps in place to make sure that anyone who is having difficulty can get the drugs they need.

There's no need to rush into this. There's plenty of time to make a decision ? and make a decision you can be confident about.

The thing to think about is, 'What coverage do you want?' ... These plans are clearly competing very hard for your business.

People do have time to take a deep breath. They don't need to rush into a decision.

Adult day care programs (and) assistant programs like that clearly have a big impact. It seems like it would make sense to coordinate those services with acute health care.

They are overwhelmingly saying it is worth the effort, and they will get savings and security, and in many cases, more savings than they expected. And we have the resources to help any other senior who is interested in taking advantage of the same program.

It just doesn't make sense for us to be paying that much money on complications of diseases we can prevent.

The benefit needs to work for everyone. We're working ... to make sure that no one leaves without the prescriptions that they need.

It's time for people with Medicare and those who care about them to start thinking about making Medicare decisions. And we will help them.

They'll be able to leave the pharmacy with their prescription in hand, even if there is not immediate evidence of what plan they're in.

The costs are coming in lower, the benefits are coming in better than expected.

CMS has significant concerns about the GAO's finding. These individuals will get effective, comprehensive prescription-drug coverage when the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit begins.

I am pleased to see Colorado committing to the health care of children.

Food choices affect health outcomes, and consumers need to have the latest, most up-to-date scientific information in making their food choices.

Pharmacogenomics holds great promise to shed scientific light on the often risky and costly process of drug development, and to provide greater confidence about the risks and benefits of drugs in specific populations. Pharmacogenomics is a new field, but we intend to do all we can to use it to promote the development of medicines. By providing practical guidance on how to turn the explosion of pharmacogenomic information into real evidence on new drugs, we are taking an important step toward that goal.

The challenge in policymaking is to take all the steps we can to help avoid unnecessary costs, to help people save money, to drive costs down wherever possible. That's the way to have both affordability and better and better health care.

The Medicare aggregate data from the ICD Registry will be made available to the public to better inform patients and physicians on the most appropriate ICD therapy. Better evidence means better decisions by doctors and patients,