BlueCross Medical Director Selected to Head Florida Medicaid and Health Regulatory Agency

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) yesterday named Dr. Rhonda Medows, currently medical director for BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida, to head the state agency responsible for administering Florida's Medicaid program and for regulating health care facilities and managed care organizations, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Medows, 39, will take over at the Agency for Health Care Administration next month, replacing Ruben King-Shaw, who was confirmed as the deputy administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA) this week (Ulferts, St. Petersburg Times, 7/11). "I'm looking forward to all the challenges that are going to come my way," Medows said during a news conference, adding, "I think the mission (of AHCA) should remain the same ... a champion for accessible, affordable quality health care" (Twiddy, Tallahassee Democrat, 7/11). Medows will take over the $113,000-per-year position "just as [AHCA] finds itself center stage in a national debate over how states can best control rising Medicaid costs," the Times reports. Last month, Florida reached an agreement with Pfizer to place all of the company's drugs on its Medicaid formulary in exchange for the drug maker providing several disease management programs that it has promised will save the state at least $33 million over the next two years; if savings fall below that figure, Pfizer will pay the difference. Medows yesterday endorsed the plan, saying she is "confident" that the deal will prove successful (St. Petersburg Times, 7/11). In addition, AHCA also faces the task of implementing recently signed nursing home legislation that will "shield" homes from "costly lawsuits," increase the regulation of nursing facilities and require increased staffing (Saunders, Florida Times-Union, 7/11).

Managing Care
Medows will become the second consecutive AHCA head to come from the managed care ranks, as King-Shaw worked for a Miami HMO before heading the agency. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Bush "defended" his choice, saying, "Managed care, unless someone comes up with a different way for delivering health care insurance to people, is going to be a factor." Medows attended Morehouse College of Medicine in Atlanta and graduated in 1986. She worked for Kaiser Permanente for four years and as a family physician at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville for seven years before joining BlueCross last year (Tallahassee Democrat, 7/11). At BlueCross, Medows served as a "liason" to several health care agencies to ensure the company's regulatory compliance. An AHCA spokesperson said yesterday that BlueCross has a $1.5 million contract with AHCA to "audit hospitals that treat Medicaid patients"; the Times reports it is "unclear whether Medows would have to recuse herself from future dealings" with that arrangement or BlueCross officials (St. Petersburg Times, 7/11).