Medicare chief to resign.

In the past hour everyone's reporting that Tom Scully has submitted his resignation as CMS chief effective Dec. 16th. Here is the CBS Marketwatch story. As reported in today's Washington Post ("Medicare Chief Scully Says He's 'Checking Out of Dodge'") Scully was extensively involved in the Conference Committee negotiations over the Medicare reform legislation passed last week (which the White House says the President will sign next Monday). Indeed, as possessor of the most detailed and encyclopedic knowledge of the massive new law, he is now in a position to provide highly remunerated value to law firms and investment bankers keen to make a buck in health care over the next few years. As reported not only in the Post article, but in more detail in today's New York Times (Google link; should be stable, but if not try this), the bidding war over Scully's services has been going on for about 6 months. His participation in the Medicare reform negotiations was based upon a waiver he received from CMS's ethics office. In light of Scully's pre-CMS salary as president of the Federation of American Hospitals ($675,000), one might well expect to see his compensation top 7 figures, especially if he works out a combination arrangement with a law firm and an investment banking firm. As the papers are quick to concede, no one is alleging that Scully took any position during negotiations over the future of Medicare with an eye toward his future employment options, and Scully is an honorable man. Also, Scully might have been the perfect choice to spearhead the Administration's efforts to get a passable reform bill out of conference. The ethics clearance, however, was handy, n'est-ce pas?