Comptroller General Announces Appointments To the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
WASHINGTON (May 21, 2007) - David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of three new members and reappointments of four members to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The official announcement will be published in the Federal Register. MedPAC is an independent federal body that was established in 1997 to analyze access to care, quality of care and other issues affecting Medicare. MedPAC also advises Congress on payments to health plans participating in the Medicare Advantage program and to providers in Medicare's traditional fee-for-service programs. The Comptroller General is responsible for naming new commission members. "Once again this year we had many more qualified applicants than open positions. This is encouraging because, to successfully address our nation's many health care challenges, we need the sustained efforts of committed individuals over many years. I'm pleased that four current MedPAC members have agreed to new terms, and that three very capable individuals have agreed to join MedPAC to help tackle these important issues," Walker said.
The newly appointed members, whose terms will expire in 2010, are Thomas M. Dean, M.D., a board-certified family physician in Wessington Springs, South Dakota, and former president of the National Rural Health Association; and Jack C. Ebeler, a consultant in health care policy, focusing on the federal policy environment and the changing health care marketplace. The newly appointed member whose term will expire in 2009 is Bruce Stuart, Ph.D., a professor and executive director of the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at the University of Maryland Baltimore. Professor Stuart is appointed to complete the remaining two years of Douglas Holtz-Eakin's three-year term that began in 2006. Holtz-Eakin resigned from his position on MedPAC effective May 2, 2007.
The reappointed members, whose terms will expire in 2010, are John M. Bertko, F.S.A., M.A.A.A., vice president and chief actuary, Humana Inc.; Francis J. Crosson, M.D., executive director, the Permanente Federation, LLC; Arnold Milstein, M.D., M.P.H., medical director, Pacific Business Group on Health; and William J. Scanlon, Ph.D., health policy consultant.
Commissioners whose terms will expire in April 2008 are Nancy-Ann DeParle, J.D., managing director, CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC; David F. Durenberger, chairman
and chief executive officer, National Institute of Health Policy; Jennie Chin Hansen, R.N., M.S.N., member, Board of Directors, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP); Nancy M. Kane, D.B.A., professor of management, Department of Health Policy Management, Harvard School of Public Health; and Nicholas Wolter, M.D., chief executive officer, Billings Clinic.
Commissioners whose terms will expire in April 2009 are Mitra Behroozi, J.D., executive director, 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds; Karen R. Borman, M.D., professor of surgery and vice-chair for surgical education, University of Mississippi Medical Center; Ronald D. Castellanos, M.D., urologist, Southwest Florida Urologic Associates; Glenn M. Hackbarth, J.D. (chair), independent consultant; and Robert D. Reischauer, Ph.D. (vice chair), president, the Urban Institute.
Attached are brief biographies of the new commission members. For more information about MedPAC, contact MedPAC's executive director, Mark E. Miller, Ph.D., at (202) 220-3700. All other calls should be directed to GAO's Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800.
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Following are brief biographies of the new Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) members:
Thomas M. Dean, M.D., is a board-certified family physician who has practiced in Wessington Springs, South Dakota, for 28 years. He is chief of staff at Avera Weskota Memorial Medical Center in Wessington Springs. Dr. Dean serves on the board of directors of Avera Health Plan, the Bush Foundation Medical Fellowship, and the South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians. A past president of the National Rural Health Association, he has published work in various medical journals and made numerous presentations on the status of health care in rural areas. Dr. Dean received the Dr. Robert Hayes Memorial Award for outstanding rural health provider in 1994, and the following year he received the Pioneer Award from the South Dakota Perinatal Association. He was awarded a Bush Foundation Medical Fellowship for 2002-2005. Dr. Dean earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. His undergraduate degree is from Carleton College.
Jack C. Ebeler is a consultant in health care policy, focusing on the federal policy environment and the changing health care marketplace. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, which advocated performance measurement and payment for quality in Medicare. Prior to that, Mr. Ebeler was senior vice president and director of the health care group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he focused on the uninsured, health care quality, and chronic care issues. In 1995 and 1996, Mr. Ebeler served as deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation/health and as acting assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the years, he has also held positions in the health care industry and on Capitol Hill. Mr. Ebeler serves on the health care services boards of the Institute of Medicine and Inova Health System in Virginia, where he chairs the quality committee. He is also on the boards of directors of Families USA and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Mr. Ebeler holds a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a B.A. from Dickinson College.
Bruce Stuart, Ph.D., is a professor and executive director of the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at the University of Maryland Baltimore. An experienced research investigator, Mr. Stuart has directed grants and contracts with various federal agencies, private foundations, state governments, and corporations. In the 1970s, Mr. Stuart served as director of the health research division in the Michigan Medicaid program. He later taught health economics, finance, and research methods at the University of Massachusetts and the Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Stuart joined the faculty of the University of Maryland's School of Pharmacy in 1997 as the Parke-Davis endowed chair in geriatric pharmacy. Mr. Stuart was designated a Maryland eminent scholar for his work in geriatric drug use. His current research, which focuses on the policy implications of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, is supported by grants from the Commonwealth Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and CMS. Mr. Stuart received his economics training at Whitman College and Washington State University.