News
GAO Announces Appointments to New Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
WASHINGTON, DC, December 23, 2009 – Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of 17 members to the new Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). The official announcement will be published in the Federal Register.
Commission Members and Terms
Diane Rowland, Sc.D.; Chair
Washington, DC
David Sundwall, M.D.; Vice Chair
Salt Lake City, UT
Biographies of Commissioners
Sharon L. Carte, MHS
is executive director of the West Virginia Children's Health Insurance Program. From 1992 to 1998, Ms. Carte served as the deputy commissioner for the Bureau for Medical Services overseeing West Virginia's Medicaid program. Prior to that she was administrator of skilled and intermediate care nursing facilities in several states and coordinator of human resources development for the Division of Employee Services of the West Virginia Department of Health. Ms. Carte has also worked with senior centers and aging programs throughout the State of West Virginia and policies related to behavioral health and chronic care for children with mental illness. She received her master of health science from the Johns Hopkins University.
Richard Chambers
is President of Molina Healthcare of California, a health plan serving over 350,000 Medicaid and CHIP members in five counties in California. Nationally, Molina Healthcare arranges for the delivery of healthcare services or offers health information management solutions for nearly 4.3 million individuals and families who receive their care through Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare Advantage, and other government funded programs in 16 states. Before joining Molina Healthcare in 2012, Mr. Chambers was CEO for nine years at CalOptima, a County Organized Health System providing health coverage to 425,000 low-income residents in Orange County, California through Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan programs. Prior to CalOptima, Mr. Chambers spent over 27 years working for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He served as the director of the Family and Children's Health Programs Group, responsible for national policy and operational direction of Medicaid and CHIP. While at CMS, Mr. Chambers also served as associate regional administrator for Medicaid in the San Francisco Regional Office and director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Washington, DC office. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Donna Checkett, MPA, MSW
is vice president of state government relations at Aetna. Prior to that, she was the chief executive officer of Missouri Care, a managed Medicaid health plan owned by University of Missouri-Columbia Health Care, one of the largest safety net hospital systems in the state. For eight years Ms. Checkett served as the director of the Missouri Division of Medical Services (Medicaid), during which time she was the chair of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors and a member of the National Governors Association Medicaid Improvements Working Group. She served as chair of the Advisory Board for the Center for Health Care Strategies, a non-profit health policy resource center dedicated to improving health care quality for low-income children and adults. Ms. Checkett also served as chair of the National Advisory Committee for Covering Kids, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program fostering outreach and eligibility simplification efforts for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries. She received her master of public administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master of social work from the University of Texas at Austin.
Andrea Cohen, JD
is the director of health services in the New York City Office of the Mayor, where she coordinates and develops strategies to improve public health and health care services for New Yorkers. She serves on the board of the Primary Care Development Corporation and represents the deputy mayor for Health and Human Services on the Board of the Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest public hospital system in the country. From 2005 to 2009, Ms. Cohen was counsel with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, where she advised clients on issues relating to Medicare, Medicaid and other public health insurance programs. Prior professional positions include senior policy counsel at the Medicare Rights Center, health and oversight counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, and attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. She received her law degree from Columbia University School of Law.
Burton L. Edelstein, DDS, MPH
is a board certified pediatric dentist and professor of dentistry and health policy and management at Columbia University. He is founding president of the Children's Dental Health Project, a national non-profit DC-based policy organization that promotes equity in children's oral health. Dr. Edelstein practiced pediatric dentistry in Connecticut and taught at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine for 21 years prior to serving as a 1996-97 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation health policy fellow in the office of U.S. Senate leader Tom Daschle with primary responsibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). Dr. Edelstein worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on its oral health initiatives from 1998 to 2001, chaired the U.S. Surgeon General's Workshop on Children and Oral Health, and authored the child section of Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. His research focuses on children's oral health promotion and access to dental care with a particular emphasis on Medicaid and CHIP populations. He received his degree in dentistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dentistry, his master of public health from Harvard University School of Public Health, and completed his clinical training at Children's Hospital Boston.
Patricia Gabow, MD
is chief executive officer of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority, an integrated public safety net health care system that is the state's largest provider of care to Medicaid and uninsured patients. Dr. Gabow is a member of the Commonwealth Fund's Commission on a High-Performing Health System. Previously she served as chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals, as well as on Institute of Medicine committee that addressed the future viability of safety net providers. Dr. Gabow joined Denver Health in 1973 as chief of the Renal Division and is a professor of medicine in the Division of Renal Diseases at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Herman Gray, MD, MBA
is president of Children's Hospital of Michigan (CHM) and senior vice president of the Detroit Medical Center. At CHM, Dr. Gray served previously as pediatrics vice chief for Education, director of the Pediatric Residency Program, chief of staff and then chief operating officer. He also served as associate dean for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and vice president for GME at Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center, respectively. Dr. Gray has also served as the chief medical consultant for the Michigan Department of Public Health Division of Children's Special Health Care Services and as vice president and medical director of clinical affairs for Blue Care Network. During the 1980s, he pursued private medical practice in Detroit. Dr. Gray serves on the board of trustees of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, the board of trustees of the recently merged National Association of Children's Hospitals (NACHRI) and Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA) and the board of directors of the Child Health Corporation of America, now known as Children’s Hospital Association. He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a master of business administration from the University of Tennessee.
Denise Henning, CNM, MSN
is service line leader for women's health at Collier Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Immokalee, Florida. A practicing nurse-midwife, Ms. Henning provides prenatal and gynecological care to a service population that is predominantly either uninsured or covered by Medicaid. From 2003 to 2008, she was director of clinical operations for Women's Health Services at the Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, where she supervised the midwifery and other clinical staff. Prior to this, Ms. Henning served as a certified nurse midwife in several locations in Florida and as a labor and delivery nurse in a Level III teaching hospital. She is president of the Midwifery Business Network and a chapter chair of the American College of Nurse Midwives. She received her master of science in nurse-midwifery from the University of Florida in Jacksonville and her bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Mark Hoyt, FSA, MAAA
was the national practice leader of the Government Human Services Consulting group of Mercer Health & Benefits (H&B), LLC (prior to his retirement in 2012). This group helps states purchase health services for their Medicaid and CHIP programs and has worked with over 30 states. He joined Mercer in 1980 and has worked on government health care projects since 1987, including developing strategies for statewide health reform, evaluating the impact of different managed care approaches, and overseeing program design and rate analysis for Medicaid and CHIP programs. Mr. Hoyt is a fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and the chair of the Society of Actuaries' Government Health Care Subgroup of their Social Insurance and Public Finance Section. He received a master of arts in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Judith Moore
is an independent consultant specializing in policy related to health, vulnerable populations, and social safety net issues. Ms. Moore’s expertise in Medicaid, Medicare, long-term supports and services, and other state and federal programs flows from her career as a federal senior executive who served in the legislative and executive branches of government. At the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), Ms. Moore served as director of the Medicaid program and of the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs. Her federal service was followed by more than a decade as co-director and senior fellow at George Washington University’s National Health Policy Forum, a non-partisan education program serving federal legislative and regulatory health staff. In addition to other papers and research, she is co-author with David G. Smith of a political history of Medicaid: Medicaid Politics and Policy, 1965-2007.
Trish Riley, MS
is the first distinguished visiting fellow and lecturer in state health policy at George Washington University, following her tenure as director of the Maine Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance. She was a principal architect of the Dirigo Health Reform Act of 2003, which was enacted to increase access, reduce costs, and improve quality of health care in Maine. Ms. Riley previously served as executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy and as president of its Corporate Board. Under four Maine governors, she held appointed positions including executive director of the Maine Committee on Aging; director of the Bureau of Maine’s Elderly; associate deputy commissioner of health and medical services; and director of the Bureau of Medical Services, responsible for the Medicaid program, and health planning and licensure. Ms. Riley served on Maine’s Commission on Children’s Health, which planned the SCHIP program. She is a member of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and has served as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Subcommittee on Creating an External Environment for Quality and its Subcommittee on Maximizing the Value of Health. Ms. Riley has also served as a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on Quality Assurance. She received her master of science in community development from the University of Maine.
Norma Martínez Rogers, PhD, RN, FAAN
is a professor of family nursing at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she has served on the faculty since 1996. Dr. Martínez Rogers has held clinical and administrative positions in psychiatric nursing and at psychiatric hospitals, including the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Fort Bliss during Operation Desert Storm. She has initiated a number of programs at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio including a support group for women transitioning from prison back into society and the Martínez Street Women's Center, a non-profit organization designed to provide support and educational services to women and teenage girls. Dr. Martínez Rogers is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and is the former president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. She received a master of science in psychiatric nursing from the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and her doctorate in cultural foundations in education from the UT at Austin.
Sara Rosenbaum, JD
is founding chair of the Department of Health Policy and the Harold and Jane Hirsh professor of health law and policy at the George Washington (GW) University School of Public Health and Health Services. She is also professor of health care sciences at GW's School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is a member of the faculty of GW's School of Law, and directs the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program. Professor Rosenbaum's research has focused on how the law intersects with the nation's health care and public health systems with a particular emphasis on insurance coverage, managed care, the health care safety net, health care quality, and civil rights. She also has served on the boards of numerous national organizations including AcademyHealth and is on many advisory boards. Professor Rosenbaum was recently appointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and also serves on the CDC Director's Advisory Committee. She has advised the Congress and presidential administrations since 1977 and served on the staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Clinton Administration. Professor Rosenbaum is the leading author of Law and the American Health Care System. She received her law degree from Boston University School of Law.
Diane Rowland, ScD
has served as chair of MACPAC since December 2009. She is the executive vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the executive director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health of the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Rowland has directed the Kaiser Commission since 1991 and has overseen the Foundation's health policy work since 1993. She is a noted authority on health policy, Medicare and Medicaid, and health care for low-income and disadvantaged populations and frequently testifies as an expert witness before the U.S. Congress on health policy issues. A nationally recognized expert with a distinguished career in public policy and research, focusing on health insurance coverage, access to care, and health care financing for low-income, elderly, and disabled populations, Dr. Rowland has published widely on these subjects. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine, a founding member of the National Academy for Social Insurance, past president and fellow of the Association for Health Services Research (now AcademyHealth), and a member of the Board of Grantmakers in Health. Dr. Rowland holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College, a master of public administration from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a doctor of science in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins University.
Robin Smith
and her husband Doug have been foster and adoptive parents for many children covered by Medicaid, including many children with special needs. Her experience seeking care for these children has included working with an interdisciplinary Medicaid program called the Medically Fragile Children's Program, a national model partnership between the Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital, South Carolina Medicaid, and the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Ms. Smith serves on the Family Advisory Committee for the Children's Hospital at the Medical University of South Carolina. She has testified at congressional briefings and presented at the 2007 International Conference of Family Centered Care and at Grand Rounds for medical students and residents at the Medical University of South Carolina.
David Sundwall, MD
serves as vice chair of MACPAC. He is a clinical professor of public health at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Division of Public Health, where he has been a faculty member since 1978. He served as executive director of the Utah Department of Health and commissioner of health for the State of Utah from 2005 through 2010. He currently serves on numerous government and community boards and advisory groups in his home state, including as chair of the Utah State Controlled Substance Advisory Committee. Dr. Sundwall was president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) from 2007 to 2008. He has chaired or served on several committees of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and is currently on the IOM Committee on Integration of Primary Care and Public Health, and the Standing Committee on Health Threats Resilience. Prior to returning to Utah in 2005, he was president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) and before that was vice president and medical director of American Healthcare Systems (AmHS). Dr. Sundwall's federal government experience includes serving as administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), assistant surgeon general in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, and director of the Health and Human Resources Staff of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. He received his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine, and completed his residency in the Harvard Family Medicine Program. He is a licensed physician, board certified in Internal Medicine and Family Practice, and volunteers in a public health clinic one-half day each week.
Steven Waldren, MD, MS
is director of the Center for Health Information Technology of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He also serves as vice chair of the American Society for Testing Materials' E31 Health Information Standards Committee. Dr. Waldren was a past co-chair of the Physicians EHR Coalition, a group of more than 20 professional medical associations addressing issues around health IT, and past co-chair of the Ambulatory Functionality Workgroup of the Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT). He received his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. While completing a post-doctoral National Library of Medicine medical informatics fellowship, he completed a master of science in health care informatics from the University of Missouri, Columbia.