[photo by Tate Nations/courtesy Mississippi Development Authority]
On October 9, Governor Tate Reeves announced that Drew Snyder is stepping down as the Mississippi Division of Medicaid Director after serving since 2018. Drew is one of the five longest-serving state Medicaid directors in the country.
On behalf of the board and staff of Families as Allies, and speaking from my own heart, I want to thank Drew for his years of service and his support of our work. As a small but mighty grassroots family-run organization, we seek to partner with state systems. We also push them when we think they need pushing—and we often think that.
Medicaid is a giant behemoth of a system to try to understand. Drew has made that convoluted task easier. Even before he began working with Medicaid, Drew was open to listening to families about our experiences with the systems that are supposed to serve our children. When he was former Governor Phil Bryant’s chief of staff, he arranged for families to meet with Governor Bryant to share what really happens to our children (and us) when we try to get help. I asked if there was a limit to the number of families we could bring to the meeting. Drew said no. He and Governor Bryant carried extra chairs to accommodate everyone who came.
I frequently mentioned to Drew that we should run Medicaid together. Not once has he ever agreed with me. He has ignored many of my text message suggestions that I thought were profoundly helpful. But this is what he has done: He’s proactively sought feedback about policies that he knew would affect families; he’s listened to Families as Allies’ stances and gotten more information (including his staff attending training with us) even when he disagreed with us. He’s backed me up when I’ve pushed for public disclosure of how funds are used to serve children and families.
Drew sometimes contacted me early mornings and late evenings to better understand mental health issues. He also typically calls me at least once a year to let me know he thinks I’ve pushed too hard or too far (and I usually interpret that to mean I’m doing my job). Still, those conversations almost always lead to us better understanding each other’s viewpoints.
Drew’s valuing of families’ lived experiences, his willingness to communicate and his openness to differing viewpoints paved the way for our partnership with the Division of Medicaid. We are grateful for that partnership—and the example Drew set as a state agency leader. We wish him the very best.
Thank you, Drew! I will miss working with you.
– Joy Hogge
