Louisiana will have to replace the agency leader in charge of the largest budget in state government, as the state health department announced Thursday that its secretary, Michael Harrington, has retired.
Drew Maranto, undersecretary at the Louisiana Department of Health, was named the interim administrator, and Gov. Jeff Landry will name a permanent secretary in the next few weeks, according to an LDH news release.
“This has been in the works for some time, as Michael has made it clear from the beginning that he intended to step down in the spring,” Landry said in the release. “He joined during a busy period, and we deeply appreciate his service and willingness to come to Louisiana and work in one of the largest and most challenging departments.
Harrington was named secretary last June after Landry and the Louisiana Legislature created the role of surgeon general and shifted Ralph Abraham from the secretary’s chair to become the first person to hold the new position. The split leadership roles put Abraham in charge of state health policy and public health efforts, while Harrington handled administrative and financial duties.
Maranto was chief of staff for Abraham before being promoted to LDH undersecretary when Harrington was hired.
Harrington had worked with the consulting firm Caldwell Butler for three and a half years when Landry brought him to the state health department in January 2024 as an undersecretary. He was previously president and chief operating officer of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and the Miami Children’s Health System in Florida.
Among his earlier jobs in health care industry leadership, Harrington was president of Christus Health Louisiana from 2014-16. He oversaw several clinics, hospitals and specialty care centers in the state in that position.
The current fiscal year budget for the Louisiana Department of Health is nearly $20 billion — close to half of the state’s total spend. The agency is annually susceptible to cutbacks as one of two major areas in the budget without constitutional protection. The other is higher education.
Harrington’s replacement inherits significant uncertainty as Louisiana and other states await the Trump administration’s policy decisions on Medicaid. The president and Republican-led Congress are contemplating cuts to the health insurance program to help pay for tax cuts. Potentially left in the lurch are low-income individuals and families, as well as people with disabilities, who rely on Medicaid to pay for their care.
Louisiana expanded its Medicaid enrollment in 2016 under the Affordable Care Act after Democrat John Bel Edwards became governor. Although some Republicans state leaders – including former Gov. Bobby Jindal – have spurned expansion, Landry chose to keep the additional coverage in place.
Approximately 1.6 million people in Louisiana, or about one-third of the state’s population, rely on Medicaid for their health care. More than four out of every 10 Medicaid patients in the state are children, according to federal data.