Published by: Bruce Siegel on 5/24/2011 9:45:08 AM
Maybe the biggest lesson for Americans these past three years is that they may only be a paycheck away from needing the safety net. As the US economy shed 9 million jobs, Medicaid rolls (understandably) swelled. Many Americans thankfully maintained some access to health care but at great strain to state and federal budgets.
Phoenix and surrounding Maricopa County, Ariz., have been ground zero in this crisis. With a tide of home foreclosures following the biggest real estate bubble in the country, maybe no other city has fallen so hard so fast. With a crippled tax base and surging anti-tax sentiment, Medicaid has become an enormous target as the Governor seeks to remove thousands from coverage while dramatically cutting payment rates. The implications for the county’s major safety net provider, Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), could be nothing short of dire. Four million county residents depend on the critical services of MIHS, with its network of clinics, giant burn unit and many other essential services.
Crises make for real leaders. I got to meet one last week. Betsey Bayless, the President and CEO of MIHS, has had a distinguished career in state and county elected politics. A third-generation Arizonan, her roots go far and deep in the sandy soil of central Arizona. She could be doing other things, but instead she is fighting to make sure millions of her fellow Arizonans have good health care regardless of their income or insurance. Cool as a cucumber, she is ably navigating the roiling waters of post-recession politics as her team continues to build a better MIHS. It is the finest tradition of real public service that calls leaders to take the rocky path uphill, not the easy way out. Arizonans are not out of the woods yet, but they can sleep better knowing Betsey Bayless is at the helm.
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Betsey Bayless, President and CEO, MIHS
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