Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Governor appoints Drew Snyder to run Medicaid

Governor Phil Bryant issued the following statement. 


Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Drew L. Snyder interim executive director of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Snyder will replace Dr. David Dzielak, who is retiring.

 “I appreciate Dr. Dzielak’s 30 years of service to the people of Mississippi, including six years leading the Division of Medicaid,” Gov. Phil Bryant said. “Drew has a firm grasp on the issues that affect Medicaid and the beneficiaries it serves. His intellect and demeanor make him the perfect choice to guide the agency during this period of transition. I am happy he has accepted this appointment.”
A Eupora native, Snyder is the deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bryant. He also serves as his policy director and counsel. Prior to working with Gov. Bryant, Snyder worked as an assistant secretary of state for Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.
As interim executive director, Snyder will oversee the agency responsible for providing health coverage for eligible, low-income populations. Medicaid has almost 1,000 employees in its central office, 30 regional offices and 80 outstations.
“I am grateful for the trust Gov. Bryant has placed in me,” Snyder said. “My immediate focus will involve gathering input from stakeholders on ways to transparently and efficiently fulfill Medicaid’s stated mission of responsibly providing access to quality healthcare to vulnerable Mississippians.”
Snyder serves on the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees and chairs the Business Law Section of the Mississippi Bar. He was the non-legislative member of last year’s Legislative Tax Reform Working Group. He is a member of the Uniform Law Commission.
Before entering the public sector, Snyder practiced law at Hollingsworth LLP in Washington, D.C., specializing in complex and multi-district litigation, with a focus on pharmaceutical and medical device matters. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and a juris doctorate from University of Virginia School of Law. 
Snyder and his wife, Camille, live in Jackson. They have one son, Jeb.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like he has exactly zero relevant experience. Perfect.

Anonymous said...


How does Philbilly justify putting this person, who has been on the government teat forever, in this very important position that requires a great deal of management skills.

I guess if you are in with the "BIG DOGS ON THE PORCH" anything is possible.

I CALL BULLSHIT...............

Kingfish said...

Salary should be raised. I think the cap is $140K per year. Talking about a budget that is several BILLION dollars. Not enough to get truly qualified people to really look at taking that job.

Anonymous said...

What would be relevant experience to run Medicaid?

Pappy Odaniel said...

Kingfish...disagree with you on the salary...whatever happened to public SERVICE. People always throw out that these bureaucrats manage X billion of dollars and a CEO makes Y so that's what they should be paid. That is complete BS. A Chief Bureaucrat has 0 liability, or as democrats say, "skin in the game" . Chris Epps is a testimony to the level of graft and corruption you have to rise to for any degree of accountability. Dr Wright is testament to the level of incompetency permitted and still retain employment. All of these yo-yo political appointees need a hefty pay cut and then maybe you will only get qualified people who have actually labored in these agencies. 140k is a bit excessive for a Phil coattail rider.

Anonymous said...

3:19 The guy that mops up at the drug store has more.medically-related experience than this bureaucratic flunky.

Anonymous said...


3:19,

Someone like Bernie Ebbers would be perfect. Get his ass out of jail and put him to work.

He really would do a great job.

Anonymous said...

This guy is a "puppet", as Trump would say. His credentials speak volumes as to his expertise versus his loyalty to Gov. Garth Bryant! Dzielak was a man of principle.

Pappy Odaniel said...

@4:33...You had me then you lost me

Anonymous said...

He is bright, has no EGO, and looks like the guy from Hangover movie. A bear of excellence. Just including providers and not hiding information from them is an easy start.

Anonymous said...

Ignorance abounds and thrives among many JJ commenters

Anonymous said...

@3:13– Terra or Dorothy?
@4:33– Dr. Dzielak?

Anonymous said...

December 20, 2017 at 5:11 PM = YYYaaaawwwwnnnnn, SSSSSnnnooorrreeee, ZZZZZZZzzzzzz

Anonymous said...

I always thought 'interim' meant they couldn't find anybody qualified who was immediately available. But I guess I'm wrong. Why not just go ahead and appoint one of those black, female directors and let the whole agency go to shit?

Anonymous said...

Don't you guys know anything... I live near this fellow in Eastover... it's just the good Ole boy system... he's married into a well off family and knows the right people and lives near all the right connections... come on now this is Mississippi

Anonymous said...

1) Not a medical position but a management of a large insurance company. KF is correct (for once) managing this size company does deserve a much higher pay. Idiotic to throw out the "where's the public service" comment, or the comparison to "the amount they are going to steal". Not everybody in government is a crook, as was Epps. But if you want to get good managers, you need to pay them.

2) Snyder is doing it out of public service, thus satisfying those of you that think government managers should work for minimum wage. Highly intelligent, great ethics. Moving from Gov staff to this position a good move, even if interim.

And no, interim does not necessarily mean couldn't find anyone else. Interim starts with the fact that the position is vacant today; need someone in the office now. (for those of you that make these idiotic statements, think about it in the terms of coaches - interim coaches thru the bowl game, or for those OleMiss fans, through the time when your hooker chasing coach gets caught and you need someone for the season.) Want to take time to find someone to take the job - with a potential cap on the time frame of two years - at the current salary cap? Don't have that list available in the top desk drawer, particularly of someone that will quit their present position today. Interim means to fill the position while looking to see who is available and interested. But, wouldn't be surprised to see it for the remainder of Feel's term.

For all those that are saying no qualifications, put your intellect up against Snyder's and if you come out on top, you can start back your bitching.

Anonymous said...

Drew is severely unqualified for this position. I've lost respect for Phil because of this.

Anonymous said...

He has a nice house. Totally qualified.

Anonymous said...

The funny thing is.....what make Phil Bryant qualified to hire a CEO of a billion plus dollar enterprise? He was a deputy sheriff for a few years before statewide office.

Voters, keep such things in mind next election before voting for a former bank teller

Anonymous said...

Lobbyists are popping champagne!

Anonymous said...

Philly would have to be qualified to pick someone...and he's not.

Anonymous said...

This guy is about as qualified as that Trump Judicial nominee. Too bad their aren't any Senator Kennedys in Mississippi!!!

Anonymous said...

Lots of comments on here from ok’ David. Sucks to be a loser.

Anonymous said...

Step one: Google “wayback machine”

Step two: search “www.snydernews.net”

Anonymous said...

This guy may be a nice guy, may be well educated, and may have married into the right family...that in no way makes him qualified to run a billion dollar agency that impacts the lives of hundreds of thousands Mississippians. He’ll give it his best shot, but experience is what will make someone successful at this level (not political connections). Sorry, Philbilly, you struck out AGAIN.

Anonymous said...

7:15 for worst post of the quarter. He now advances to the final round of worst post of the year.

Anonymous said...

I think that Drew will do a fine job keeping it between the ditches, increasing transparency, and working to implement policy changes. There isn’t enough time for him to make the big changes that need to be made at Medicaid.

Anonymous said...

He will be the 100% opposite of Dzielek By:
1. Actually following the law, procurement and contracting regulations, etc;
2. Actually communicating with legislators;
3. Actually understanding the Div of Medicaid contracts for services from vendors, not policy;
4. Actually making policy/admin/budget decisions without consulting vendor “super lobbyists”

He does this, he will be the golden one and look like a hero!

Anonymous said...

@11:24...are you kidding on # 4? He’s appointed by a gov who doesn’t shit without getting money from lobbyists. You may be correct on 1-3. However, #4 makes me laugh out loud.

Anonymous said...

An agency that serves a fourth of Mississippians and is responsible for providing jobs for hundreds of state employees, deserves a more qualified leader. Medicaid's budget is almost as much as the state budget, since the money comes primarily from the federal government, at least ED should have experience in government budgeting or hospital administration or the like. This job appears to be much too big for on the job training. Another brilliant Phil Bryant decision.

Anonymous said...

Is this DW's grandson?

Pappy Odaniel said...

@7:27...Yep, but a little bribery and tax evasion never hurt nobody. So, how old is this guy, 34? But who am I to judge these people in certain circles just know better than us.

Anonymous said...

Tell us what Mr. Intellect has done to reform PERS?

From all appearances the answer is NOTHING.

Anonymous said...

His Ole Miss blog back in the day was the best!

Anonymous said...

4. Actually making policy/admin/budget decisions without consulting vendor “super lobbyists”

Snyder has aspirations of climbing the GOP ladder. #4 will never happen. Playing helps with the paying needed on down the line.

Anonymous said...

Review of qualifications:

Experience managing other people: check
Knowledge of and familiarity with the legislative process: check
Resulting ability to spot and/or prevent problematic bills: check
Positive working relationships with legislators: check
Understanding of and experience in application of details of state budget process: check
Understanding of and experience in CORRECT state contracting procedures: check
Understanding and practical application of transparency standards: check
Understanding of Medicaid regulations: check
Experience in working with CMMS: check
Desire to neither see the Medicaid program go completely off the rails in its purpose to serve as a safety net program nor see it collapse the state budget: check

Bonus: above average intelligence and superior legal education. Translation: ability to know when someone is trying to fleece him and/or the agency

Pappy Odaniel said...

@8:35...Look Drew, I'm not arguing with you. Your just a damn wunderkind.

HDMatthias, MD said...

I'm sure this man is a very nice person. However, it appears he has NO EXPERIENCE in medicine. Yes, I understand that the Medicaid Director requires executive experience, but it also requires MEDICAL experience. There are many physicians with MBAs and executive experience. I, for one, am a physician who's sick of having someone with no medical expertise running Medicaid. Find a dynamic physician who's nearing retirement to take this job. We don't need more Republican Government Drones. Although Leland Speed, (Sr.) is fairly old he's very dynamic and has great ideas about education. The same type of person who is a physician should be found for this job, rather than another pencil pusher.

Anonymous said...

10:21, nope. Just someone familiar with his work.

Anonymous said...

1059, you think medical experience is required? Check the CEO of the states,larges medical insurer - BCBS. Not a medical practotioner, but an executive. Medicaid is no different. Sorry - all knowledge is not concentrated in the letters "MD"?

Anonymous said...

Hate to break it to you folks, but practically no one driving this ship is remotely qualified for their job.

Phil is a deputy sheriff who happened to be sitting in the room when Fordice needed a new auditor. Tater is a backup D3 basketball player who put on 150 pounds and married a rich girl. Even the so-called smart ones down the chain, like Snyder and Lucien Smith (who is actually a nice guy) are the sons or sons-in-law of rich guys, who got into decent colleges and/or law schools, but then made a beeline for the government teat, having accomplished literally nothing.

So if you're complaining that a 30-something political appointee isn't qualified to run a thousand-employee medical agency, you're absolutely right. But I guess my question would be, you're just now realizing this?

If you're paying $140k to run a huge, complex operation, the only semi-quasi-almost feasible candidates are going to be people who want something other than money -- i.e., political climbers.

That's all these people are. All of them.

Anonymous said...

11:45 hits the nail on the head. no further debate needed.

Anonymous said...

11:45, "all of them" are in fact qualified. Phil Bryant couldn't be governor without being qualified because his name couldn't have been legally placed on the ballot. Same with Trump or Clinton or Fordice, etc. If the Senate finds Snyder unqualified, assuming an interim appointment requires confirmation, he won't get the votes. I think what you mean to say is you don't like what "all of them" do or represent or how they measure against some other subjective criteria. In Phil's case, I think at least 65% of your fellow voting Mississippians decided he met their standards beyond actual qualification for the job. I assume you know elections have consequences and are exercising your right to participate in the electoral process. Armchair complaining is easy but accomplishes nothing constructive. Snyder and Lucien Smith both held private practice positions before entering the public sector, and Lucien is back in private practice. Neither got into the schools they did on Daddy's merits. Both were, ahem, qualified.

Anonymous said...

Believe it or not, there are people out there that actually know the ins and outs of Medicaid law and policy. Some of them even know the structure of MS Medicaid, and they know most of the people. That is, they actually know what DOM does, and they know how DOM does it. A small number of those have leadership skills and are good with people. There's your candidate pool for Exec Dir. Get a list of eligibles and then interview. Don't turn to your right and find your closest yes man with a passable resume.

Anonymous said...

12:20....the fact that Mississippi elected these fellas says a lot about Mississippi. Actually confirms a lot of what has been said for years.

Anonymous said...

Needs to use sunscreen.

Anonymous said...

12:20 Alabama was just a start, you better believe elections have consequences. January 2019 will be the dawn of a new day.

Anonymous said...

Medicaid Executive Director can make up to $183,000. This is the statutory maximum (150% of the Governor's Salary which is currently $122,000).

Anonymous said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it how many Democrat chickens are getting counted before their hatching !!! This is a page right out of the book 'How to LOSE an Election in 3 Easy Steps' !!!



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