State's health secretary steps down, undersecretary takes over on permanent basis
Photo | Courtesy of Chris Lisinski, State House News Service
Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh speaks at a naloxone training event on Tuesday.
After a more than two-year tenure in which she charted the state's path through the tumultuous Steward Health Care collapse, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh will step down, the Healey administration announced Friday.
Gov. Maura Healey immediately appointed Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, who for nearly Walsh's entire time in office has served as undersecretary of health, to take over the Executive Office of Health and Human Services's top job starting Monday.
Mahaniah steps into the role on a permanent -- not interim -- basis at a critical point as Massachusetts braces for significant funding cuts and enrollment changes at MassHealth stemming from a new federal law.
"Dr. Mahaniah has an outstanding record as a physician, a community leader, and a valued member of the EOHHS leadership team," Healey said in a statement. "As the Trump Administration undermines health care and food access for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents, Dr. Mahaniah will be committed to making high-quality health care more affordable and accessible for all of our residents, bringing an urgently needed focus on primary care and behavioral health care, and maintaining our nation-leading health and human services system in Massachusetts."
Walsh decided to step down for personal reasons after more than four decades of leadership in the health care sector, according to an official, and she will remain involved as an advisor to the Healey administration.
She oversaw the largest department in state government, whose work reaches across MassHealth, the opioid epidemic, child welfare and more. It's also the single largest area of state spending, and arguably serves the most constituents of any executive office.
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