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Aldona Wos, head of the state Department of Health and Human Services, gave a strange and inaccurate response when challenged on the decision not to expand Medicaid, North Carolina Health News reports.

Wos was speaking in Reidsville, one of the stops on a tour to sell a managed care plan for Medicaid.

When challenged by a doctor on the decision not to expand the government health insurance to about 500,000 working-class people, Wos said state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin made the decision.

Um, no.

That decision came from the legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory, who hired Wos.

UPDATE: Ricky Diaz, communications director for DHHS, explains:

“The Secretary was talking broadly about the Insurance Commissioner’s oversight authority over the health care insurance industry in North Carolina, and it is unfortunate that her remarks were taken out of context.”

UPDATE: On Saturday evening, North Carolina Health News posted an audio of Wos' remarks. Judge for yourself.

Carol Steckel is the new director of the Medicaid office. She'll be coming from Louisiana, where she's director of the Center for Health Care Innovation at the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

She starts her new job on Jan. 22 at a salary of $210,000 a year.

Steckel will be in charge of the state Division of Medical Assistance, which runs the state's $12 billion Medicaid program. The government health insurance program covers about 1.8 million residents.

"Ms. Steckel has an extensive background in health policy and government, having served as commissioner of the Alabama Medicaid Agency and spearheading the state of Louisiana's response to the Affordable Care Act," said state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos.