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Sponsored
by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives
Program
Conducted by AcademyHealth
Hersh
Crawford has been the Medicaid Director for the State of Oregon
since March 1996, and is currently the Administrator of the Office
of Medical Assistance Programs. He has worked in Oregon's Medicaid
program since 1980 as a fiscal manager, Assistant Director or
Acting Director, and Director. He has been directly involved with
the Oregon Health Plan from the preliminary discussions in 1987,
through the preparation and approval of the 1115 demonstration
waiver, up to implementation of the program and currently manages
the operation of the demonstration. He has a B.S. degree from
Florida State University and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from
the University of California, Riverside.
Pamela
Dickson is a Senior Program Officer at The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. Her program activities at the Foundation focus on
increasing access to care for all Americans, with a particular
emphasis on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in access to
care. Before joining the Foundation, Ms. Dickson held several
senior positions at the New Jersey Department of Health. As Assistant
Commissioner from 1988 through 1994, she supervised the all-payer
hospital rate-setting system and the health planning program.
As Director of Health Care Reform Initiatives, she coordinated
efforts among the Governor's Office, the Department of Health,
the Department of Human Services and the Department of Insurance
to implement New Jersey's 1993 Health Care and Insurance Reform
Legislation.
Ms.
Dickson has held positions as a member of the Board of Directors
of the National Association of Health Data Organizations and of
the Access for the Uninsured Steering Committee of the National
Academy for State Health Policy. She holds an M.B.A. in Health Care
Administration from the Wharton School of Business.
Vickie
Gates is a Vice President of the Academy for Health Services Research
and Health Policy and serves as Director of the State Coverage
Initiatives Program. Previously, Ms. Gates was the Director of
the Department of Support Services of Multnomah County, Oregon.
She was responsible for central services including finance, human
resources including employee benefits and collective bargaining,
information technology, organizational development, central research
and evaluation, and support of the county's quality initiative.
Ms. Gates also served on the Board of Directors of the Northwest
Health Foundation, Oregon Health Decisions, and the Oregon Coalition
of Health Care Purchasers. She currently serves on the Oregon
Health Forum Board of Directors.
Ms.
Gates has a wide variety of experience in health care and human
services. She served as the first Oregon Health Plan Administrator,
responsible to the Governor and the Legislature for oversight and
coordination of Oregon's health care reform and health policy development.
Prior to this, Ms. Gates served for a number of years in the Oregon
Department of Health and Human Services, including positions as
the Deputy Director, and the Director of Program and Finance. Other
governmental experience includes the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office
and the Children's Services Division of the Department of Health
and Human Services. Ms. Gates received her B.A. from the University
of North Carolina and has pursued graduate studies in history and
public administration.
Anne
K. Gauthier is Vice President at the Academy for Health Services
Research and Health Policy, which was formed in June 2000 following
the merger of the Alpha Center and the Association for Health
Services Research (AHSR). Since joining the Alpha Center in January
1989, Ms. Gauthier has directed a wide range of health policy
and demonstration projects concerned with health care financing
and delivery issues of national significance. She serves as Program
Director for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Changes in Health
Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) Initiative and as Senior
Advisor for the Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives (SCI)
program. She is also responsible for developing new Academy programs
for research/policy syntheses and information services. Prior
to joining the Alpha Center, Ms. Gauthier was Senior Researcher
for the National Leadership Commission on Health Care and, for
over six years, served the Congress of the United States in its
Office of Technology Assessment. A graduate of Princeton University,
Ms. Gauthier earned her M.S. in Health Administration at the University
of Massachusetts (Amherst) School of Public Health.
Dr.
Helms is President and CEO of the Academy for Health Services
Research and Health Policy. The Academy was formed on June 19,
2000 from the merger of the Alpha Center and the Association for
Health Services Research (AHSR). The Academy serves as the professional
society for the fields of health services research and health
policy. Its programs are dedicated to stimulating the development,
understanding, and use of the best available health services research
and health policy information by public and private decision makers.
Currently, there are 3,366 individual members and 108 organizational
affiliates. In addition to leading the Academy, Dr. Helms serves
as a senior advisor to for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's
(RWJF) State Coverage Initiatives program. He also serves as the
as project director for the Academy's contract with the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to conduct workshops
and prepare research reviews for state and local government officials.
Prior
to his current position, Dr. Helms founded and directed the Alpha
Center where he was president from 1976-2000. The Alpha Center was
known as a non-partisan, non-profit health policy center that provided
expert technical assistance, objective analysis and research, and
comprehensive education and facilitation services. Dr. Helms received
his doctorate in public administration and economics in 1979 from
the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
George
recently accepted the position of Bureau Chief, Pharmacy Services
for the State of Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration.
His responsibilities include the planning, directing, organizing,
and coordinating of policy and procedures related to the Medicaid
prescribed drug program, research and analysis of proposed state
and federal legislation, Medicaid prescribed drug budget, and
cost containment initiatives.
Prior
to his current position, George was the Director of Clinical Services
for the Eckerd Corporation. George also managed the PatientCARE
network - the first retail chain pharmaceutical care network that
is marketed directly to patients. He is a member of the American
Pharmaceutical Association, Florida Pharmacy Association, Rho Chi
Honor Society, and serves on the Tampa Bay Alliance Steering Committee,
American Pharmaceutical Association Benchmarking Steering Committee,
and JAPHA Editorial Advisory Board. He has also served on the Florida
Department of Health Drug Therapy Task Force. George graduated with
a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Samford University.
In
June 2000, Gail Loren Margolis was appointed and commissioned
by Governor Gray Davis as the Deputy Director of Medical Care
Services (MCS), Department of Health Services. As the Deputy Director
of MCS, Ms. Margolis is responsible for the development, promotion,
and implementation of health care delivery systems to over five
million beneficiaries of the state Medi-Cal program, and for the
overall operation of the Department's MCS division.
In
1995-1996, Ms. Margolis founded the Margolis Law Firm located in
Santa Monica, California, which specializes in health care and tax-exempt
issues; she has served as its president ever since. As an instructor
in health care law at Mount St. Mary's College and a former adjunct
faculty member at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law,
Ms. Margolis lectures before leading academic and professional organizations
on a variety of public health, social welfare, legal, and medical
management topics.
Ms.
Margolis holds a diploma in tax law from the University of San Diego
School of Law, a JD, Cum Laude, from the University of West Los
Angeles School of Law, an M.B.A from the University of Dallas, and
a B.A. from St. Mary's College.
Mr.
Maruca began his service as Medicaid Director for the state of
New Mexico in May of 2000. Prior to becoming director, he spent
ten years as Chief Executive Officer of the Children's Hospital
of New Mexico. At the same time, Mr. Maruca was the Administrator
of the 30 bed pediatric facility, Carrie Tingley hospital, a component
of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.
With
over 25 years experience in health care management, planning, and
operations, Mr. Maruca has also worked for the Departments of Defense
and the U.S. Army Surgeon General. He serves on numerous community-related
boards and maintains many professional affiliations. He has both
a Master's of Personnel Management and an M.B.A. from the University
of Arizona. Mr. Maruca completed his undergraduate work at Gonzaga
University.
Gretchen
Morley is a senior Medicaid analyst at the Office of Management
and Budget in the Executive Office of the President. Her responsibilities
include reviewing State Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration applications,
assisting in the formulation of the President's legislative and
regulatory agenda, maintaining estimates of Federal Medicaid spending
for the President's Budget, and briefing OMB and White House policy
officials on current Medicaid issues.
Gretchen
received her M.P.A. in health policy from NYU's Robert F. Wagner
Graduate
School of Public Service. Her previous work experience includes
positions at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for
Health Care Strategies in New Jersey and the Center for Health and
Public Service Research at NYU.
As
the Deputy Director of the Division of Integrated Health Systems
of the Family and Children's Health Programs Group, Ms. Rhodes
provides leadership and management on policy development and operational
issues for Medicaid managed care and waiver programs. Areas of
responsibility include Medicaid section 1115 and 1915(b) waiver
programs, including the new Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability
Initiative, the Medicaid Managed Care Regulation resulting from
the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the full spectrum of managed
care issues, including delivery systems, financing, and benefits.
Ms.
Rhodes has over 12 years of health policy experience. She has a
strong public sector background that includes work on both Medicare
and Medicaid policy with CMS, as well as experience as a legislative
aide on Capitol Hill. She also has private sector experience as
a former consultant with a Washington D.C.-based firm specializing
in Medicaid and Medicare managed care. Ms. Rhodes received her Master's
of Science in Consumer Economics from the University of Maryland
at College Park.
Dennis
Smith is the Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations
(CMSO), part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS.) Mr. Smith was appointed to this position on July 29, 2001.
As the Director of CMSO, Mr. Smith provides leadership in the
development and implementation of national policies governing
Medicaid, survey and certification, the State Children's Health
Insurance Program, and insurance reform provisions of the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Center also
serves as the focal point for all CMS interactions with States,
local governments, as well as Native American and Alaskan Native
Tribes.
Prior to his appointment as Director of CMSO, Mr. Smith served
on the Bush-Cheney transition team as chief liaison to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, he also served
as the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services
for the Commonwealth of Virginia. As Director, he was accountable
for an agency with a $3 billion budget and staff of 270. The Department
is responsible for several health insurance programs including
Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Indigent
Health Care Trust Fund and the State and Local Hospitalization
Trust Fund.
Mr.
Smith has a Master's Degree in public administration from George
Mason University and a degree in political science from Illinois
State University. He is married and he and his wife have four daughters.
Tom
Susman was appointed by Governor Bob Wise as Director of the West
Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (WVPEIA) on January
16, 2001. A former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates,
Susman served as Chair of the Insurance Committee for the years
1990, 1991 and 1992. During that time the state completely rewrote
its small group health insurance laws. Susman also has served
on the West Virginia Behavioral Health Advisory Committee. In
addition, prior to his appointment as PEIA Director, he was a
health care and government relations consultant.
Tom
is a graduate of West Virginia University and the former managing
member of The Susman Group, LLC. He resides in Charleston, West
Virginia with his wife, Carol and is the father of four children.
Chiquita
White is a senior analyst at the Office of Management and Budget
in the Executive Office of the President. She has responsibility
for overseeing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP),
evaluating the budget of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, and briefing policy officials at OMB, the White House,
and other federal agencies on health care issues and legislation.
She has worked on several health policy issues while at OMB, including
the financing and implementation of SCHIP, nursing home quality,
and Medicare contractor oversight and reform. Chiquita received
a Bachelor's Degree from Princeton University and a Master's Degree
in Public Policy from Georgetown University.
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