Current:Home > MyFormer North Carolina labor commissioner becomes hospital group’s CEO -MoneyMentor
Former North Carolina labor commissioner becomes hospital group’s CEO
View
Date:2025-04-12 18:04:46
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s labor commissioner for nearly the past four years is the next president and CEO of the chief advocacy group for the state’s hospitals.
The North Carolina Healthcare Association announced on Tuesday that it hired Josh Dobson after a nationwide search to lead the group, which represents more than 135 member hospital systems.
The trustee board for the association, a major player in health care policy in the state, chose Dobson to succeed Stephen Lawler, who is retiring after seven years in leadership.
Dobson, a former state legislator and McDowell County commissioner, said nearly two years ago that he wouldn’t run in 2024 for a second term leading the Labor Department. Last Wednesday, a day after fellow Republican Luke Farley won the statewide election for commissioner, Dobson announced his resignation from the job effective later that day.
Dobson has an extensive history in healthcare policy from serving in the General Assembly. During his final state House term, Dobson was a chair of the House appropriations and health committees. He was an early supporter of Medicaid expansion to provide government health insurance to more low-income adults. A 2023 state law initiating a form of expansion that now serves 569,000 people also enhanced Medicaid reimbursement payments for hospitals.
Dobson “is a proven collaborator who can bring people together to build the best solutions for ensuring North Carolina remains a top state for employers and residents to access high-quality healthcare close to where they live and work,” said association board Chair Chris Peek, who is also president and CEO of CaroMont Health.
Dobson’s roles also will include overseeing the association’s charitable foundation and a subsidiary that offers healthcare providers access to products and services.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper last Friday named veteran department administrator Kevin O’Barr to serve as labor commissioner until Farley is sworn in early next year.
Scores of association members recently agreed to participate in a new initiative pushed by Cooper’s administration that will give hospitals even higher Medicaid payments if the medical debt of low- and middle-income patients they hold is relieved and they carry out ways for future patients to avoid liability.
Dobson will be a registered lobbyist for the association at the legislature after a six-month cooling-off period required in state law, association spokesperson Stephanie Strickland said in an email.
veryGood! (2213)
Related
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- 'Megalopolis' trailer sparks controversy with fabricated quotes from film critics
- PHOTO COLLECTION: Election 2024 DNC Moments
- Shawn Johnson Reveals 4-Year-Old Daughter Drew's Super Sweet Nickname for Simone Biles
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Los Angeles Dodgers designate outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment
- Biden promised to clean up heavily polluted communities. Here is how advocates say he did
- When do cats stop growing? How to know your pet has reached its full size
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Parson says Ashcroft is blocking effort to ban unregulated THC because of hurt feelings
Ranking
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Former New Hampshire lawmaker loses right to vote after moving out of his district
- Donald Trump addresses AI Taylor Swift campaign photos: 'I don't know anything about them'
- An Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Little League World Series live: Updates, Highlights for LLWS games Thursday
- Pink joined by daughter Willow in moving acoustic performance at DNC
- Judge declines to dismiss murder case against Karen Read after July mistrial
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Weight loss drugs sold online offer cheaper alternative to Ozempic, Wegovy. Are they safe?
NWSL scraps draft in new CBA, a first in US but typical elsewhere in soccer
These Lululemon Finds Have Align Leggings for $59 Plus More Styles Under $60 That Have Reviewers Obsessed
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
What to know about Labor Day and its history
Kamala Harris with Beyoncé? Yes, but the star singer was only heard through loudspeakers
Bridgerton Star Jonathan Bailey Addresses Show’s “Brilliant” Gender-Swapped Storyline