McClellan Resignation Signals Administration Will 'Tread Water' on Health Care Reform

The resignation of the Medicare/Medicaid chief removes all possibility that the Bush Administration will make significant strides toward universal health coverage, says a Duke health policy professor

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

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Durham, N.C. -- The resignation of Medicare/Medicaid chief Mark McClellan removes all possibility that the Bush Administration will make significant strides toward universal health coverage or other significant reforms to the nation’s health care system, says a Duke University health policy professor.

“Disappointingly, McClellan’s leaving is a signal that the Bush administration is not going to do anything substantive on health care reform,” said Christopher Conover, assistant research professor of public policy with the Duke Center for Health Policy.

“Health care reform really can’t take place without tax reform, and I was hopeful when Henry Paulson was appointed treasury secretary that two parallel efforts could begin,” Conover said. “The odds were still long, but McClellan’s departure drives the odds to about zero. They’ll be treading water on health reform until the end of the administration.”

Conover, who recently wrote a paper envisioning the implementation of universal health care coverage under Bush, said the time and focus needed for such an effort were diverted by the war in Iraq. “The war has totally diverted the administration’s attention from anything domestic,” Conover said.