[T]he head of the Agency of Human Services, Al Gobeille, is leaving his post.
The announcement was made Thursday at Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly press conference.
Gobeille, 54, says he is stepping down to return to his businesses in Burlington. He owns Shanty on the Shore, and Burlington Bay, restaurants on the city’s waterfront.
Gobeille, who has been working in state government for nearly a decade, told reporters that he had been talking with the governor about his return to the private sector in recent weeks.
He said that a year without an election, and during the summer — before the agency has to start building its budget for next year — is a good time for his departure.
“I think in these jobs we all have an internal clock that we know about. No one else can see it and you know when it’s time for you — it’s a personal thing,” he said. “And I feel this is the right time for me.” He is expected to leave later this month.
Gobeille’s post will be filled by the deputy secretary of the agency, Martha Maksym. While Maksym serves as interim secretary, the Scott administration will be conducting a search for a long-term replacement.
Scott tapped Gobeille to run the largest agency in state government in 2016, shortly after being elected to his first term as governor.
Before that, Gobeille served as the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board, which oversees hospital spending in Vermont.
The governor praised Gobeille Thursday, for helping make health care in Vermont more affordable for low income residents during his time as secretary.
When he took office, Scott said the state’s health care exchange was “failing” and costs growing at an unsustainable rate.
“Frankly it felt like a lot of Vermonters had lost faith in state government’s ability to get things done,” Scott said.
Under Gobeille’s leadership, the state began a pilot phase of an all-payer health care model for Medicaid patients.
Under the all-payer system, doctors are paid based on the health outcomes of their patients, not based on the number of procedures they perform.
“Today … Medicaid is the most reliable payer within the model which is a testament to Al’s leadership and ability to put ideas into practice,” Scott said.
Scott also championed Gobeille for successfully balancing the Agency of Human Service’s budgets during his first term, without any new taxes or fees, and cutting costs at agency, which is Vermont’s largest.
Last year, the agency spent $70 million less than in the final year of Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration, Scott noted.
“This was only possible through good management,” Scott said.
The governor implied Thursday that he wouldn’t be surprised if Gobeille held a public service position again in the future.
But Gobeille was mum on the prospect.
“I think I’m going to go…and make creamies and wash dishes and we’ll figure it out,” he said.
