118. Greg Moody on Leadership and Health in Ohio

On Prognosis Ohio 118, Dan talks with Greg Moody to reflect on his work as the Director of Governor Kasich’s Office of Health Transformation and learn about his current work at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs on nonpartisan leadership in health care. 

Dan and Greg talk extensively about one of the biggest developments during the Kasich administration —especially the decision to expand Medicaid eligibility to about 700,000 low-income childless adults under the Affordable Care Act. Kasich has since become a national advocate for Medicaid expansion. In 2013, Kasich went to the Controlling Board, a committee of the legislature, to get the authority for the expansion, but it passed because a majority of Ohioans supported the issue. Pointing back to Dan’s 2021 conversation with Rick Hodges, former director of the Ohio Department of Public Health, Greg and Dan also reflect a bit on how Greg’s experience during with ebola scare in 2014 prepared Ohio (or not) to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conversation then shifts to Moody’s current work at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. They provide one-day skills-based training for about 3,200 public employees a year to sharpen their skill set and help them reach the next step of their public service journey. They also run the Public Leadership Academy, which brings together 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats who were recently elected from any level of government to give them a sense of how bipartisanship works. 

In a theme that comes up a lot on Prognosis Ohio, Dan and Greg talk about the important role media need to play in promoting democratic accountability. Dan mentions important reporting on pharmacy benefits managers from The Columbus Dispatch, which came to the foreground during Moody’s tenure with the Office of Health Transformation. They reflect on the need of journalism and third-party accountability.

Read more about Greg Moody here.

NAME CHECKS & RELATED EPISODES

• Rick Hodges was the Director of the Ohio Department of Health during the Ebola scare

• During Moody’s tenure as Director of Jobs and Family Services, he teamed up with Jo Ann Davidson, former Speaker of the House, to stabilize the department

• From an early age, Moody’s sense of public service came from Senator John Glenn, who was from Moody’s hometown of New Concord, Ohio

• Dan and Greg reflected on the current absence of media accountability and the state of journalism today, shouting out the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the Columbus Dispatch, as well as the newer papers that have emerged to fill in the gaps 

PRODUCTION

Hosted and produced by Dan Skinner. Copywriting and production support by Angela Lin. Prognosis Ohio is a member of the WCBE Podcast Experience and the Health Podcast Network. Prognosis Ohio is a production of Prognosis Ohio, LLC.