THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Holly Benson resigns, may run for Attorney General
Oct 15, 2009
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA published this article on October 13, 2009
By DAVID ROYSE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Oct. 15, 2009…..Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson announced Thursday she was stepping down to pursue “some opportunities that lie ahead,” opportunities expected to include running for attorney general.
Benson, a Republican former state representative from Pensacola, said she’ll leave the health care agency at the end of the month.
“Health care is at a critical crossroads, and its course is being determined not in Tallahassee, but in Washington D.C.,” Benson said in a resignation letter sent Thursday to Gov. Charlie Crist. “Likewise I find myself at a critical juncture wherein I must consider how best to use my talents to serve the people in our state. While I am excited about new opportunities, I regret that the decision I find myself heading requires that I resign my position as of two weeks from today.”
Benson has been mum on what her plans are, though those close to Benson have confirmed that she’s considering a run for the opening attorney general’s seat on the Cabinet.
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp is already in that race on the Republican side.
By trade, Benson is a bond lawyer, having practiced with Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone for several years.
Benson was appointed by Crist to head AHCA in February, 2008 after serving as head of the Department of Business And Professional Regulation for about a year.
At AHCA, she was in charge of the agency overseeing one of the largest parts of the state budget, the $16 billion Medicaid program. AHCA also licenses 36,000 health care facilities.
One of Bensen’s prioirties over the last several years has been trying to broaden the state’s Medicaid reform experiment, which hasn’t happened following several years of criticism of the pilot projects that were tried in a few counties. As a state legislator, Benson was one of the lawmakers who crafted the bill that sought to change the Medicaid system from a flat-out fee-for-service model to a more managed system that was intended to be more efficient. The effort was spearheaded by then-Gov. Jeb Bush and former AHCA Secretary Alan Levine.
While observing that changes in the laws governing health care will primarily come out of the federal health care reform debate currently going on in Washington, Benson said she was proud of what the agency has done in Florida in her year-and-a-half there.
“I am very proud of the work we did to improve the quality of our health care facilities, to help Floridians get access to the health care they need at a price they can afford, and to empower consumers with better information about their health and our health care system,” Benson said in her resignation letter.
She also sent a note to AHCA employees on Thursday.
“I love coming to work with you every day,” Benson said in that message. “….I have watched you put in long hours to keep Floridians safe, to ensure they have access to the care they need, to drive innovation and transparency in our health care system, to keep this agency running and streamline our operations. . . to work for better health care for all Floridians.
“But. . . I had a meeting with the governor the other day to talk about some opportunities that lie ahead, and I regret that because of those opportunities I will no longer be able to serve as your secretary. “