Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis G. Smith has resigned his post. “I would like to thank Dennis for his service to the State of Wisconsin—because of his efforts Medicaid is now on a sustainable path,” said a press release from Governor Scott Walker. Walker has appointed Deputy Secretary Kitty Rhoades to succeed Smith.
“Kitty has the qualities necessary to lead the Department of Health Services and I am confident her long history of active involvement in health care issues will serve Wisconsin very well,” said Walker.
Prior to his January 2011 appointment to head DHS, Smith had served as the Director of the Centers for Medicaid and State Operations, an agency in the federal Health and Human Services Department under President George W. Bush. The governor’s office did not provide a reason for his resignation.
Rhoades is a former state lawmaker, having served as a Republican in the state Assembly from 1999 until 2010. She served as the co-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Finance and served on the Health and the Aging and Long-Term Care standing committees. She was appointed to her DHS position in January 2011.
UPDATE: Smith has joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, as a managing director in the firm’s Health Policy practice.