Dr. Mark Clanton is currently Deputy Director for Cancer Care and Delivery Systems at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He works with Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Director of the NCI, to increase the Institute's impact on the quality, cost, and reimbursement of cancer care. He also provides leadership in the national effort to reduce cancer health disparities.
In 1998, Dr. Clanton was promoted to Vice President of Managed Care at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas, the state's largest health plan, becoming the first African American to hold that rank. In 1999, he was promoted to Chief Medical Officer of that organization.
While at Blue Cross, Dr. Clanton was responsible for leading the pharmacy drug program for more than one million members. He supervised new medical technology evaluation and medical policy development for three million Texans. In 1999, in conjunction with the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Clanton introduced the first federally funded health services research program into the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas Health Plan.
As a 17-year volunteer with the American Cancer Society (ACS), Dr. Clanton has provided important national, statewide, and local strategic leadership that has helped the ACS pursue its 2015 cancer reduction goals. Before coming to the NCI, Dr. Clanton was President-Elect of the National ACS and a longstanding member of the National and Texas ACS Boards of Directors.
