Wallack leaving position as state Medicaid director

ANYA RADER Wallack is leaving her position as state Medicaid director to take a position at Brown University. Here she is shown at HealthSource RI, talking with Contact Center Manager Meg Ivatts, on the left. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO
ANYA RADER Wallack is leaving her position as state Medicaid director to take a position at Brown University. Here she is shown at HealthSource RI, talking with Contact Center Manager Meg Ivatts, on the left. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

(Updated 1:10 p.m.)
CRANSTON – Medicaid Director Anya Rader Wallack will leave her position at the end of September to take a position with the Brown University School of Public Health.
Wallack’s departure was announced by R.I. Health and Human Services Secretary Elizabeth Roberts on Thursday.
Wallack will be program manager for training initiatives at the Center for Evidence-based Medicine in the Brown University School of Public Health, according to a Brown spokesman.
Meanwhile, Roberts has asked Deputy Medicaid Directors Deb Florio and Darren McDonald to lead the Medicaid program while the department conducts a recruitment process for a new director. Wallack has been in the position less than a year; she started Nov. 2. Prior to that, she was the head of HealthSource RI, the state’s health insurance exchange, for nearly a year.

“Throughout her career, Anya has been a tireless advocate for delivering better, more affordable care,” Roberts said in a statement. “She stepped up to lead our Medicaid program during a pivotal period and has positioned us for continued success as we work to implement a comprehensive, progressive package of reforms. These initiatives are expanding access to high-quality health care and achieving millions in savings – all without reducing benefits or cutting eligibility for the one in four Rhode Islanders enrolled in Medicaid.”

Wallack oversaw the implementation of reforms initiated through the Reinventing Medicaid Act of 2015 that are projected to achieve more than $100 million of annual Medicaid savings, while expanding access to health services. In addition, through her leadership, more than 100,000 Rhode Islanders are now enrolled in Accountable Entities, which improve coordination of care and reduce the overall cost of care for people enrolled in Medicaid, according to information from the state.
Wallack said it was rewarding to work with state leaders to strengthen the Medicaid program.
“The reforms that Rhode Island is implementing are innovative and will build healthier communities across the state. I will miss serving in state government greatly, but I leave the program in very capable hands and with a strong foundation for continued reform,” she said.

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