The former leader of Mississippi’s public health insurance program for children, pregnant women, low income and disabled people has been tapped to run the overarching federal program, Politico reported Tuesday.
Drew Snyder is expected to assume leadership of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Medicaid division after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office Jan. 20.
Snyder left his helm at the Division of Medicaid in October after nearly seven years in the role, where he was one of the agency’s longest-serving directors. He served under two Republican governors who thwarted Medicaid expansion and staunched the flow of billions of federal dollars to provide health insurance to low-income Mississippians for over a decade.
He then became the leader of a new health care collaborative housed within a powerful multi-state, Jackson-based lobbying firm that has donated thousands of dollars to Republican officials’ campaigns. The firm’s political action committee has contributed nearly $75,000 to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves since 2018.
Snyder, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, will presumably leave his role weeks into the Mississippi legislative session and with just two months under his belt in the position.
Advocates for Medicaid fear that Trump’s return to the White House may mean drastic cuts for the federal program that provides health insurance coverage to over 79 million Americans.
Trump made little mention of his plans for the program during his 2024 campaign. But during his first term, Trump encouraged work requirements and introduced waivers to cap funding for state programs in exchange for fewer federal regulations. No states adopted the waiver.
Trump has nominated Dr. Memhet Oz, a former cardiothoracic surgeon and TV personality, to be administrator of the federal agency. Snyder will serve under Oz’s leadership if he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Oz has no experience running a government agency.
Snyder left Mississippi Medicaid in what he described as “the best fiscal shape in its history,” at the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Hearing in September 2024, less than two weeks before he announced his resignation. The state’s appropriation will likely increase in coming years due to reduced federal public health emergency dollars and dwindling agency surplus funds.
The post Report: Former Mississippi Medicaid director to run federal program appeared first on Mississippi Today.