Stites & Harbison, PLLC

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stites & Harbison welcomes attorney Elizabeth “Betsy” Johnson to the Lexington office.  Johnson joins the firm as a member of the Health Care Service Group. Her practice focuses on health care law and regulatory insurance issues.

From January 2008 through September 2010, Johnson served as the Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services. In this capacity, Johnson managed the Medicaid program’s more than $6 billion budget, serving nearly 800,000 Medicaid recipients. She also advised the governor on important policy initiatives and budgetary matters.

“At a time when health care reform presents greater challenges and opportunities than ever before, we are fortunate to be adding Betsy to our cadre of legal talent,” said Kennedy Helm III, Chairman of Stites & Harbison, PLLC.

Her career highlights include practicing as a staff attorney for the Kentucky Court of Appeals, as an administrative law judge with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, as counsel to the Kentucky Department of Insurance, as counsel to the Legislative Research Commission, and as Deputy Commissioner for the Kentucky Department for Employee Insurance, prior to becoming Medicaid Commissioner.

“I’m looking forward to applying my experience with regulatory insurance issues to a more global practice of health care law,” said Johnson. “Stites & Harbison has an excellent reputation for advocating for its clients and it will be a pleasure to practice law with the finest health care attorneys in this state.”

In 2003, Johnson and a paralegal from the Department of Insurance prepared, argued and won a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging Kentucky's "Any Willing Provider" statute. In Kentucky Association of Health Plans, Inc. v. Miller, the Supreme Court unanimously held that "any willing provider" laws regulate insurance and therefore are not preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

“Elizabeth’s experience in the regulatory arena over the past 16 years will be a tremendous resource to all our clients in the health care industry as they address the many issues raised by health care reform,” said Mike Cronan, a member and chair of the firm’s Health Care Service Group.

Johnson earned her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1994. She received her B.A., with distinction, in Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 1991. She is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

About Stites & Harbison

Stites & Harbison, PLLC, is a regional business and litigation firm with attorneys in Lexington, Louisville and Frankfort, Ky.; Alexandria, Va.; Atlanta; Jeffersonville, Ind.; and Nashville and Franklin, Tenn.  Tracing its origins to 1832, Stites & Harbison is one of the oldest law practices in the nation and among the largest law firms in the Southeast.  Our attorneys are consistently recognized by their peers in the following leading legal directories: Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory^®, The Best Lawyers in America^®, Chambers USA and Super Lawyers magazine.  Recent firm honors include being named: one of the Top 15 Places to Work in Kentucky — five years in a row (Kentucky Chamber of Commerce), one of the 50 Best Overall Law Firms in America (Global Research), one of the Leading Law Firms in America (The American Lawyer), a Go-To Law Firm^® (Corporate Counsel), one of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity (MultiCultural Law Magazine) and a Top 10 Growth Firm (National Law Journal). 

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