LOBBYING AVENGERS IT PAYS TO BE VETERAN TALENT, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. When Liz Dudek retired in November as secretary of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, she was immediately able to join Greenberg Traurig’s lobbying practice as director of Healthcare Affairs. State law normally bans lobbying by former state agency employees for two years after they leave. Dudek was able to bypass the lobbying ban because it exempts those hired before 1989; Dudek first starting working for the state in late 1974. No wonder Fred Baggett, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Tallahassee office, was “thrilled” to be able to add her to his team. Dudek’s vast knowledge of the federal-state health care system made her a shoo-in. She led an agency that has a $26 billion budget, most of which went to funding Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program for the poor. The agency also oversees licensing of Florida’s 45,000 health care facilities. “As a leader in the regulation of health care for many years, her distinctive knowledge and expertise are unsurpassed,” Baggett said. Gov. Rick Scott first appointed Dudek secretary of AHCA — which has a roughly $20 billion yearly budget — in March 2011, according to the agency’s website. She was re-nominated by Scott for the job and again confirmed by the Senate in February. “I’m a lifer, and I mean that in a really good sense,” she said during a confirmation hearing this January in the Senate Health Policy committee. “... I believe in being responsible, in being accountable, honest and efficient,” she added. “And I think I lead the best team in state government.” In a statement on her retirement, Scott said Dudek “has done an outstanding job making sure all Floridians have the opportunity to lead a healthy and safe life and I wish her the best.” Over the years, she gathered legislative and regulatory experience few government officials have. Dudek served in a succession of positions in the agency, including: • Bureau Chief of Certificate of Need/Budget Review • Bureau Chief of Health Facility Compliance • Assistant Deputy Secretary of Managed Care and Health Quality • Deputy Secretary of the Division of Health Quality Assurance “By joining Greenberg Traurig, I know I am joining a team that places integrity and professionalism above all else,” Dudek said in November. “... In this new position, I will be able to nurture the relationships I have formed throughout my career and continue to help improve health care in Florida.” State Agency ‘Lifer’ Liz Dudek Now Advocates for Health Care at Greenberg Traurig BY JIM ROSICA PHOTO: Mary Beth Tyson 90 | INFLUENCE WINTER 2016
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