Sam Atkinson named Deputy Administrator for Accountability and Compliance

The Mississippi Division of Medicaid has named Sam Atkinson as the agency’s Deputy Administrator for Accountability and Compliance.

Sam Atkinson, Deputy Administrator for Accountability and Compliance

Atkinson, who previously served as Director of Audit Response Teams and Special Projects for the Office of State Auditor, will report to Drew Snyder, the Division of Medicaid’s executive director. In her new role, Atkinson will oversee the program integrity, external audit, internal audit, and compliance functions of the $6 billion dollar agency.

“Sam is an extraordinarily intelligent, dedicated public servant who will be critical in ensuring that the Division fulfills its commitment to being a high-integrity, high-performance public organization,” Snyder said. “Sam’s extensive experience in professional auditing and fraud prevention are a natural fit for this role. And she also has a lot of experience in data analysis and training, which I think will be especially helpful as we emphasize staff development and build out our data and analytics capabilities across the agency.”

Atkinson has more than 25 years of experience working with government programs. As Director of Audit Response Teams and Special Projects for the Department of Audit, she evaluated and analyzed government operations, services, and decisions using professional auditing standards, best practices, and data analytics, conducted performance and compliance audits, and led training for outside organizations in performance management, budgeting, contract management, internal control, and fraud prevention.

“The Division of Medicaid is a massive organization that impacts so many lives directly and indirectly,” Atkinson said. “I’m excited for this opportunity to help strengthen the agency’s core functions and to be a part of the effort of transforming it into a 21st century Medicaid program.”

Atkinson earned a MPPA and BA from Mississippi State University. A recipient of the 2017 Governor’s Excellence in State Government Award, she is also a certified inspector general auditor.

Published Dec. 3, 2020