New AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris (L) and new DCF Secretary Taylor Hatch (R) (Photos via Gov. Ron DeSantis’s social media)
Gov. Ron DeSantis shuffled two of his health care agency heads to new positions in his administration Tuesday.
He appointed Shevaun Harris, who has been heading the Department of Children and Families (DCF) since February 2021, to serve as secretary at the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
DeSantis named Taylor Hatch, who has been leading the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) since February 2023, as secretary of DCF.
DeSantis has not named a new director at APD as of this report.
DCF is the state agency charged with determining whether residents are eligible to enroll in the safety net health care program, Medicaid, as well as food security and cash assistance programs. But DCF doesn’t house the state’s $33.4 billion Medicaid program. Instead, it’s located for administrative purposes in AHCA.
“Both secretaries Harris and Hatch have been doing a phenomenal job serving the people of Florida in their respective roles, and I know each of them will contribute significantly to their new positions,” DeSantis wrote in a post on the social media site, X.
There was a vacancy at the top spot in AHCA after Jason Weida, who was named its secretary in January 2023, was tapped last month to be DeSantis’s new chief of staff. DeSantis named his previous chief of staff, James Uthmeir, state attorney general earlier this month. The AG post was open after DeSantis appointed Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate.
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The appointments came days before the March 4 kickoff of the regular 60-day legislative session. Both secretaries will have to be confirmed by the state Senate.
Meanwhile, it’s a homecoming of sorts for both Harris and Hatch.
Harris held a variety of positions at AHCA for 15 years, including a stint as the agency’s acting secretary after Mary Mayhew left the post to head the Florida Hospital Assocation (FHA). DeSantis then appointed Harris as DCF secretary to replace Chad Poppell, who resigned from the position.
Hatch was named director of APD in February 2023. Before that, Hatch was deputy secretary at DCF. She also served as DCF’s assistant secretary for economic self-sufficiency. Earlier, she worked at the Department of Economic Opportunity as the director of Workforce Services.
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