Acting Director for Policy of the Children and Adults Health Programs Group (CAHPG)
Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Jennifer Ryan is the Acting Director of the Children and Adults Health Programs Group (CAHPG) in the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) at CMS.  Jennifer leads CMCS’ work on eligibility, coverage and quality improvement for children and adults through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  In this capacity, she is managing the implementation of major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including the expansion of Medicaid coverage to low-income adults and the development and review of section 1115 waiver proposals.  Jennifer is also leading the CMS State Operations and Technical Assistance (SOTA) Initiative that is designed to promote communication and information sharing with states and to facilitate their Affordable Care Act implementation efforts.  

Jennifer served as CAHPG’s Deputy Director for Policy from January 2011 through December 2012.  Prior to joining CAHPG, Jennifer served as the Senior Advisor to Cindy Mann, CMS Deputy Administrator and Director of CMCS.  In that role, she facilitated the operations of the Office of the Center Director and assisted in priority setting, policy development and execution of CMCS initiatives. Jennifer also led CMCS’ efforts to strengthen relationships with states, consumer advocacy organizations, health care providers, the policy and research communities, and other federal agencies.  

From 2001 – 2009, Jennifer was a Principal Policy Analyst at the National Health Policy Forum, an affiliate of the George Washington University.  Her work at the Forum similarly focused on Medicaid and CHIP coverage, financing, and legislative issues and working closely with state officials to educate Congressional and federal agency staff about state health care programs and policies.  Jennifer served in several roles at CMS (then HCFA) during her first tour with the federal government from 1994 – 2000 including Technical Director of the CHIP Division and Special Assistant to the HCFA Administrator on Medicaid, CHIP, welfare reform and nursing home enforcement issues.