LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The director of Arkansas’ Medicaid program, who led the implementation of the private option health insurance program, announced Friday he is leaving his position next month.
Andy Allison, who has run the Medicaid office since November 2011, is to depart June 1.
Department of Human Services Director John Selig said Dawn Zekis, the Medicaid program’s director of Health Care Innovation, will serve as interim director. Selig said the agency will conduct a national search for a replacement for Allison.
Selig had praise for Allison’s performance during a time of major changes.
“Andy has done a tremendous job here at a critical time, Selig said in a news release. “When we were searching for a Medicaid Director, we repeatedly heard that he should be at the top of our list. Andy has a remarkable combination of program knowledge, raw intellect and national clout, and has been masterful in leading our efforts to transform Arkansas’s health system and implement the nationally-acclaimed private option. We will miss him.”
The Legislature adopted the private option to accommodate President Barack Obama’s Medicaid expansion program, which was part of the federal health overhaul package. More than 155,000 people in Arkansas applied to enroll in the private option.
Legislators this year approved extending the private option program for another year.
Allison said in a news release that he was glad to have had a role in getting the program off the ground.
“Gov. Beebe, John Selig and DHS Deputy Director Janie Huddleston gave me the opportunity to lead the most innovative Medicaid program in the country. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am deeply appreciative,” Allison said. “The team I joined and that we have built up at (the state Medicaid office) over the past two and a half years is dynamic and strong. I expect to see great things from them in the coming years.”
Zekis has led the innovation office for two years, where she’s overseen the Medicaid program’s payment improvement program.. Starting in 2008, Zekis served as DHS director of policy and planning.
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