Mark Birdwhistell Announced Under Secretary for Health In Health and Family Services Cabinet

FRANKFORT, KY: Governor Ernie Fletcher announced today that Mark D. Birdwhistell will serve as the under secretary for health in the new Health and Family Services Cabinet.

Birdwhistell is currently the chief executive officer of CHA Health, a Lexington managed care organization that covers 200,000 members. He has served as CEO since 1998. Birdwhistell previously held positions with the University of Kentucky Hospital and the state Department for Medicaid Services.

"I look forward to the opportunity to take my experiences in the private and public sectors and apply them in the new Health and Family Services Cabinet," Birdwhistell said. "I appreciate being selected by Gov. Fletcher for this important role."

Birdwhistell helped turn CHA Health into a successful health plan that includes a network of 140 hospitals and 10,000 physicians. CHA Health returned to a profitable position by January 1999 while maintaining a constant membership.

He had previously served as associate hospital director for managed care at UK and was a director for program development and budget in the Department for Medicaid Services from 1989-1994.

Birdwhistell is a graduate of Georgetown College and has a master's in public administration from UK. He is a past president of the Kentucky Association of Health Plans and serves on advisory boards for the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at UK.

"Mark Birdwhistell will bring a wealth of experience to the new cabinet," Gov. Fletcher said. "His work in private business and state government will go a long way in helping Kentucky improve the lives of its citizens."

Birdwhistell will serve as the under secretary for health to Secretary James W. Holsinger Jr. for the new agency, which was created from the Cabinet for Health Services and the Cabinet for Families and Children. Birdwhistell will be one of four under secretaries and will oversee Medicaid, Public Health, Mental Health and Mental Retardation and Disability Determination Services.

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