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December 24, 2008

Rendell’s top health care chief moving on

Rosemarie Greco is credited with spearheading initiative to modernize state’s system.

MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG — The director of Gov. Ed Rendell’s efforts to expand health insurance to low-income children and adults, help doctors pay their malpractice bills and modernize Pennsylvania’s health care system is stepping down.

Rendell said Tuesday that Rosemarie B. Greco will leave her post as director of the Office of Health Care Reform on Dec. 31, but will remain as an adviser to the governor as he continues to press a plan to expand state-subsidized health insurance for low-income adults.

Pennsylvania has become a national leader on attacking hospital acquired infections and managing chronic diseases because of the work of Greco and her staff, Rendell said.

“What Rosemarie has accomplished, working with just a handful of staff over the past six years, is nothing short of amazing,” Rendell said.

Greco, a former president of CoreStates Financial Corp. and chairwoman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, has served with Rendell since 2003, when Rendell created the office to cut health care costs and ensure that more people had access to doctors and nurses.

She originally intended to stay for three years — but then realized how long it can take to change minds and policies in government.

“This kind of a seismic shift in the way government works really requires a lot longer period of time, so I doubled my commitment,” Greco said Tuesday.

Greco, of Philadelphia, also chairs the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing and sits on various corporate boards, including that of Chicago-based power company Exelon Corp. and Philadelphia-based oil refiner Sunoco Inc.

Viewing the work as more of a mission than a job, she worked for $48,000 a year — about one-third the salary of a typical cabinet member — and said she will negotiate a reduced wage as an adviser.

One of Greco’s first initiatives was a $220 million-a-year effort to help doctors pay for their medical malpractice premiums. The program took the extra step of making sure that doctors who accepted the help continued practicing in Pennsylvania.

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