Yesterday, EOHHS Secretary Bigby announced that Terry Dougherty will permanently take the post of Medicaid Director. Terry served as interim director since September, and will continue to serve as Assistant Secretary. Terry’s work is cut out for him. Beyond the immediate budget issues, it’s time for the state to begin thinking about the next iteration of the MassHealth waiver, the agreement with the federal government that structures and funds most of our state health programs. The current waiver expires at the end of June, 2011.
We look forward to working with Terry to ensure that the 1.2 million MassHealth members continue to get quality care.
Here’s the announcement from Secretary Bigby:
I am pleased to announce that Assistant Secretary Terry Dougherty will assume permanent leadership of the Office of Medicaid, while continuing to serve as Assistant Secretary. As you know, Terry has served as Interim Medicaid Director since September and has led the agency in a challenging fiscal environment. Throughout, he has shown a commitment to improving and streamlining services for the more than 1.2 million MassHealth members. It’s clear that he will continue to lead MassHealth thoughtfully and strategically. I am delighted that Terry will assume additional this responsibility over the long-term and look forward to our continued work together on behalf of the people we serve.
-Suzanne Curry
