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Bush picks new health care chief
By ALISA ULFERTS
© St. Petersburg Times, TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush has selected a Jacksonville physician and insurance executive as the new head of the state's Agency for Health Care Administration. Rhonda M. Medows pledged Tuesday to make patients' needs the agency's priority and to continue its role as "the champion for accessible, affordable health care." Medows, 39, replaces Ruben King-Shaw, who was confirmed this week as deputy administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration in Washington. Medows is a medical director for BlueCross BlueShield of Florida and starts her new job next month at AHCA, which regulates health care facilities and coordinates the state's Medicaid program. "It was clear she had a patient-first mentality," Bush said. Medows takes control of AHCA just as the agency finds itself center stage in a national debate over how states can best control rising Medicaid costs. Late last month, Florida signed an experimental deal with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that promises the state millions in savings in exchange for placing the company's medicines on a preferred prescription list for Medicaid patients. Pfizer will finance several disease management programs and a health literacy program. If those programs don't save the state $33-million over two years -- partly by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits -- Pfizer must pay the difference. Medows said she is confident the program will work but says the state is covered even if it doesn't. "Either way the Medicaid agency is going to come out okay," Medows said. Bush directed AHCA officials to conduct the negotiations, which officials say were held in confidence, not secret, after meeting with top Pfizer representatives at a Republican function in November. A bill authorizing such negotiations took effect July 1, about a week after the deal was signed. Lawmakers also passed another exemption to Florida's public records law to ensure that records about future arrangements are not public. AHCA officials said that was needed to bring drug companies to the table. "I think it's an innovative idea," Bush said Tuesday. "If it doesn't work, the state doesn't lose a penny," he added. The man Medows is replacing played a large role in her selection. She and King-Shaw served together last year on the Florida Commission on Excellence in Health Care, according to Bush's office. Bush lost a minority agency head when King-Shaw left, but replaces him with Medows, who also is African-American. BlueCross BlueShield officials released a statement Tuesday, saying they were looking forward to having Medows at the helm of the agency. "We're proud of Dr. Medows and wish her the best in her new position. We look forward to working with her to promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Floridians," said Dan Lestage, vice president of health care programs for the company. BlueCross BlueShield also has a contract with AHCA to audit hospitals that treat Medicaid patients, according to agency spokesman Bruce Middlebrooks. The $1.5-million contract began in July 2000, though it is unclear whether Medows would have to recuse herself from future dealings with the contract or her former bosses. Medows has worked at BlueCross BlueShield since March 2000, where she was one of 23 medical directors. Medows acted as a liaison between the company and health care agencies to ensure the company met all regulatory requirements, the company said. She spent seven years practicing at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville before that and has worked with other medical groups. She graduated from Cornell University in New York and the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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