Mark McClellan

is stepping down.

McClellan's signature task was overseeing the implementation of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, which now helps more than 3 million seniors pay for their prescription medications. The start-up was anything but smooth.......(is any startup of this magnitude smooth?) Seniors complained of confusion during the enrollment process, and more than a dozen states stepped in with emergency measures after many of the poorest beneficiaries were turned away or overcharged at pharmacies. Despite that rough transition, recent polls have found that most beneficiaries are satisfied with their choice of plan.

It was a HUGE job and it went well!
Now, who to replace him??

Possible successors, at least on an interim basis, include Leslie V. Norwalk, the deputy administrator of CMS; Herb Kuhn, director of the agency's Center for Medicare Management; and Julie Goon, a special assistant to Bush and formerly the director of Medicare outreach at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Good luck Mark!
And a very big congratulations for your recognition Julie!