KHI News Service, June 17, 2009
TECUMSEH — Andy Allison was named executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority today.
Members of the agency’s board went into executive session and then emerged to vote unanimously on their choice near the end of the final day of their annual, two-day retreat.
"He’s the best person for the job, there’s no doubt about it," said Joe Tilghman, board chairman. "The board had no qualms whatsoever."
Tilghman said board members thought it was important to get someone named quickly to the job, saying they didn’t want to go through a, "long period of delay and uncertainty with people wondering who’s running the agency with the budget situation we’re in and with the health reform debate that’s going on the national level."
Allison’s appointment requires confirmation by the Kansas Senate.
Allison, previously the agency’s deputy director and director of the state Medicaid program, was named acting director June 1, after Marcia Nielsen announced last month she was resigning the position to return to the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Allison, 42, began working at the agency in December 2005 as the deputy director. He took on the additional role of Medicaid director in November 2006. Before joining the health policy authority, he spent six years at the Kansas Health Institute as a researcher and director of Health Care Finance and Organization. His research focused primarily on the effectiveness, availability and cost of health care and health insurance in Kansas.
He also worked as a Medicaid budget analyst at the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C., from 1992 to 1995 providing staff support to President Clinton’s health care reform effort and reviewing state health care reform waiver applications. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Oklahoma Baptist University, a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University, and a doctorate in economics from Vanderbilt University.
On Tuesday, Allison had told the board that Barb Langer, former director of policy for the agency, would assume the role of acting Medicaid director. He said the policy office would be shut down as part of cost cutting measures that include 13 layoffs that will be effective July 1.
"We’re really dealing with an entirely different landscape than we were just a year ago," Allison said in a prepared statement. "Kansas is in the midst of a recession that is different from any other recession in modern times. That’s putting tremendous strain on state finances, which is reflected in the budget cuts that the Legislature enacted this year. We also have new political leadership in the governor’s office as well as the Kansas House. And we have a new administration in Washington that is making health care one of its top priorities. The landscape has changed and so will the way we do business."
Allison said the agency would focus more on program management. The agency oversees Medicaid, HealthWave and the state employees’ health and workers’ compensation plans, making it a $2.6 billion agency.
During the retreat, board members agreed that the agency’s future health policy recommendations to the Legislature and governor would focus more on health promotion, disease prevention, and policy changes that improve efficiencies and reduce costs. Board members also said they wanted the agency to strengthen collaborations with other state health agencies, the Governor’s Office and the Legislature.