Tigue named R.I. Medicaid director

PATRICK TIGUE has been named state Medicaid director. / COURTESY LINKEDIN
PATRICK TIGUE has been named state Medicaid director. / COURTESY LINKEDIN

CRANSTON – Former Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island executive Patrick Tigue has been appointed state Medicaid director, and will start the new position on March 20.
The appointment was announced Wednesday by Anya Rader Wallack, the acting R.I. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Tigue most recently worked for Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island as its director of operations and strategy, and also worked previously for the state Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a master of public policy degree from Brown University’s A. Alfred Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy.
Tigue said he is “honored” to lead Rhode Island’s Medicaid program, which Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said has nearly 300,000 Rhode Islanders enrolled.
“It is critical that this program is run as effectively and efficiently as possible to ensure that the Rhode Islanders served receive the care they need to lead healthy, productive lives. I look forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to accomplish these goals,” Tigue said in a statement.

Rader Wallack said Tigue “has proven himself to be a very effective manager for one of the largest insurers of low and moderate income Rhode Islanders. He understands insurer operations, but also has a real commitment to Medicaid’s mission and programs. Patrick can lead us in modernizing and innovating in our Medicaid program without losing sight of the people we serve.”
In November, Rhode Island announced Reinventing Medicaid 2.0. The state has received approval for nearly $130 million in federal funds that it said will better position the state to meet 21st-century health care needs and demands. In partnership with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, funds will be used to implement Medicaid payment models to improve health outcomes as well as strengthen the state’s health care workforce pipeline.
Among Tigue’s top priorities will be continuing to implement the Reinventing Medicaid reforms.
Rader Wallack held the position of Medicaid director until she left last September to become program manager for training initiatives at the Center for Evidence-based Medicine at the Brown University School of Public Health. She was named acting secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services on Feb. 15. Elizabeth H. Roberts resigned from the secretary position on Feb. 14.

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