"Conventional wisdom in Washington has it that Mark McClellan, the head of (CMS), is a shoo-in for (HHS Secretary Tommy) Thompson's job. In hearings earlier this year, senators let McClellan get away with rhetorical murder-failing to question his absurd assertion that the Medicare prescription drug legislation gives beneficiaries `the best possible negotiated price discounts on the drugs they purchase ... better than could be achieved through direct government negotiations.' ... Senators could do the nation some good ... if they put aside their rubber stamps long enough to ask tougher questions of whomever the president nominates to succeed him."
-Los Angeles Times
