Susan Dell’Osso resigns from Oklahoma Health Care Authority board
A member of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority board is stepping down from the role, citing potential conflicts of interest.
Susan Dell’Osso wrote in a Nov. 1 resignation letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt that she was resigning effective Jan. 1. She said her job’s corporate policy prevents her from continuing her service on the board because it limits all executives from sitting on state boards to eliminate possible conflicts of interest.
“As an employee of Accenture, who serves State needs across a range of services throughout the United States, I am not permitted to serve on a State board due to potential conflicts of interest,” Dell’Osso wrote in the letter.
More:Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt under fire for shake-up on state health board
Stitt appointed Dell’Osso to the board in September 2021 after he dismissed two physicians who had served on the board.
Dell’Osso and Gino DeMarco replaced the two physicians, Dr. Laura Shamblin and Dr. Jean Hausheer, in the board shakeup. DeMarco resigned from the board this summer and was replaced by John Christ in August.
Stitt faced criticism over the doctors’ removal, which came shortly after a vote to table emergency rules that would have allowed the state to move forward with Stitt’s plan to implement Medicaid managed care, which would privatize the program.
More:Oklahoma Legislature signs off on Medicaid managed care legislation
The Health Care Authority oversees the state’s Medicaid program, called SoonerCare. Over a million Oklahomans have health coverage through SoonerCare.
The rules later passed, and the state Legislature has since signed off on legislation that allowed the Health Care Authority the authority to implement a managed care program and provides a framework for the agency to do so.
The Health Care Authority is now seeking proposals from third-party entities to implement the new managed care model, dubbed SoonerSelect. The contracts will be awarded and announced in early 2023.
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