May 19, 2006 3:23PM # Punting on Medicare Reform By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE I just returned from lunch with Mark McClellan, MD/​PhD (economics) and administrator of the [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services](http://www.cms.hhs.gov/)—[a *very* smart guy](http://chppcor.stanford.edu/people/publications/markbmcclellan). The lunch was hosted by Grace-Marie Turner of the [Galen Institute](http://www.galen.org/) and Merrill Matthews of [CAHI](http://www.cahi.org/index.asp). (Thanks for lunch, guys.) Dr. McClellan told the group of the success of Medicare Part D, including the fact that it has (so far) cost less than projected. When recognized for a question, I made the following points: 1. Part D has contributed to a rift in the president’s base, as evidenced by [an editorial in this morning’s *Wall Street Journal*](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114800135641357362.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks). 2. Though there is disagreement over the significance of Part D’s lower-than-expected spending projections, there is no question that Part D made it more difficult to meet Medicare’s already unsustainable promises. 3. One result of Part D is that people who would otherwise be talking about Medicare reform are talking only about whether Part D is a success. I asked Dr. McClellan when the president might begin pushing Medicare reform, in particular the kind of reforms discussed by the [National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare](http://thomas.loc.gov/medicare/index.html) in 1999. McClellan answered that [the president’s budget](http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/) proposes (a) slowing the growth of Medicare spending on hospital care, (b) requiring wealthier seniors to pay more for their Medicare benefits, and (c) having Congress create another Medicare commission to tackle the problem. The first two proposals are both potentially helpful and woefully inadequate. The third is a punt. Today’s *Wall Street Journal* also [reports](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114799922610557311-search.html?KEYWORDS=Hudson+greenspan&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month) that yesterday Alan Greenspan “repeated a warning to lawmakers, saying Medicare spending is unsustainable and could one day drive government debt and interest rates substantially higher.” The president has [acknowledged his duty](http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050210-123410-9368r.htm) to address those unfunded liabilities. An anxious nation waits … and waits … and waits.… ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).