Alice Burton

Alice Burton is director of the State Health Policy Group at AcademyHealth, where she leads The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) program, and advises on other special projects. Previously, Ms. Burton was the director of the planning administration at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In that role, she was resp onsible for policy analyses and advising the Department on health care financing legislative issues, including Medicaid, the Maryland State Children's Health Insurance Program, and the uninsured. She also served as the project director for Maryland's Health Resources and Services Administration Planning Grant on the uninsured. Ms. Burton is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and holds a master's degree in health policy from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Debbie Chang

Debbie I. Chang, M.P.H., is senior vice president and executive director of Nemours' Division of Health and Prevention Services where she is creating and leading a new operating division devoted to developing, implementing, evaluating, and promoting model programs in the area of child health promotion and disease prevention. Ms. Chang has 17 years of federal and state government experience in the health field, primarily working on the Medicaid program and child health programs, in particular the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). She is a national expert on child health policy and programs and Medicaid. Ms. Chang was previously Deputy Secretary for Health Care Financing at the Maryland Department of Health, where she oversaw Medicaid and SCHIP. She has held several high-level positions with the federal government, including leading the national implementation of SCHIP. Before coming to Nemours, she was director of strategic development and policy at the National Academy for State Health Policy, where she led an effort to improve the Medicaid program. She is a graduate of MIT with a master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan.

Richard E. Curtis

Rick Curtis is president of the Institute for Health Policy Solutions (IHPS), an independent no t-for-profit organization that develops public policy approaches and private initiatives that are in the public interest and viable in the private market.

Mr. Curtis has an extensive background in health insurance coverage and financing issues. His recent roles with other organizations include: heading a multi-disciplinary team (with RAND and others) analysis of alternative purchasing pool implementation scenarios under SB2 for the California HealthCare Foundation and the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board; assisting Oregon's Family Health Insurance Assistance Program in design of an approach to reach uninsured small employer groups; assisting the Institute of Medicine Committee on Rapid Advance Demonstration Projects (as expert consultant on the uninsured); and participating in the Health Sector Assembly of 50 leaders from diverse organizations.

Mr. Curtis has been director of health policy studies at the National Governors' Association (NGA); founding executive director at the National Academy for State Health Policy; and director of the Department of Policy Development and Research, Health Insurance Association of America. He served as a (non-partisan) lead expert witness for the U.S. Finance Committee Hearing (1994) on alternative roles for alliances and alternative employer pool constructs.

Pamela S. Dickson

Pamela Dickson is a senior program officer at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her program activities focus on increasing access and quality of care for all Americans, with a particular emphasis on reducing racial and ethnic disparities. 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.

Kimberley Fox

Kim Fox (M.P.A., Maxwell School of Public Citizenship) is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center where she currently manages projects related to pharmacy coverage, health insurance and access to care, and health care performance measurement. Prior to coming to CSHP, Ms. Fox was a Senior Research Associate at Baruch College School of Public Affairs. She has extensive experience in health policy research and planning for at-risk populations having worked as Deputy Director of Planning at HIV CARE Services division of Medical and Health Research Association, Deputy Director of Policy Research at the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, and Senior Research Analyst at the United Hospital Fund of New York City.

Isabel Friedenzohn

Isabel Friedenzohn is a senior associate at AcademyHealth and works primarily on The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) program. Her responsibilities include providing technical assistance to state policymakers on health policy reform, specifically expanding and maintaining health insurance coverage; disseminating state models of expansion through the program's written products; convening workshops and small-group consultations for policymakers; and assisting in the development of technical assistance documents. Ms. Friedenzohn joined AcademyHealth in October 2001 after receiving her master's of public health degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Prior to graduate school, she worked for the Veterans Administration Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a Research Health Science Specialist. Most recently she was a consultant at Mercy International Health Services, where she collaborated on two projects assessing Human Resources and Health Services Management issues. During her graduate studies, Isabel also worked as an international health intern in the Office of International and Refugee Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Anne Gauthier

Anne K. Gauthier is vice president at AcademyHealth. Ms. Gauthier came to AcademyHealth from one of its predecessor organizations, the Alpha Center, where since January 1989, she 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 oversees the development and operation of AcademyHealth programs for research/policy syntheses and for information services. She also serves as secretary to the Board of Directors and staffs several Board standing and advisory committees. Prior to joining the Alpha Center, Ms. Gauthier was senior researcher for the National Leadership Commission on Health Care and, for more than 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.

Paul Ginsburg

Paul Ginsburg is president of the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Founded in 1995, HSC conducts research to inform policymakers about changes in organization of financing and delivery of care and their effects on people.

Dr. Ginsburg served as the founding executive director of the Physician Payment Review Commission (now the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission). Widely regarded as highly influential, the Commission developed the Medicare physician payment reform proposal that was enacted by the Congress in 1989. Dr. Ginsburg was a senior economist at RAND and served as deputy assistant director at the Congressional Budget Office. Before that, he served on the faculties of Duke and Michigan State Universities. He earned his doctorate in economics from Harvard University.

Dr. Ginsburg is a noted speaker and consultant on the changes taking place in the health care system and the future outlook. In addition to presentations on the overall direction of change, recent topics have included cost trends and drivers, consumer-driven health care, and competition in health care. Modern Healthcare twice named him one of the 100 most powerful persons in health care. He is a founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a Public Trustee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and served two elected terms on the Board of AcademyHealth.

John F. Grgurina, Jr.

John F. Grgurina, Jr., is the president of PacAdvantage, a non-profit purchasing pool offering affordable health insurance plans to small businesses in California with 2 to 50 employees. Mr. Grgurina oversees all aspects of PacAdvantage, including operations, sales and marketing, and health plan contracting.

Prior to joining PacAdvantage, Mr. Grgurina was the chief deputy director/lead negotiator of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), a state of California agency with the mission of reducing the number of Californians without health coverage. Mr. Grgurina was responsible for negotiating health, dental, and vision plan contracts and premium rates. Among his accomplishments were the design, negotiation, and implementation of full-risk contracts for the state's high-risk pool; its pregnancy program (Access for Infants and Mothers); the small employer purchasing pool (Health Insurance Plan of California); and the Healthy Families Program, a subsidized children's health insurance program.

Prior to joining MRMIB in September 1992, Mr. Grgurina was employed by the state of California's Department of Finance where he performed analytical and consultative duties necessary to carry out the budget and management functions for the Department of Health Services Medi-Cal program, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and worked on strategies to increase coverage to uninsured Californians.

Mr. Grgurina is a frequent speaker and presenter at health care industry conferences, both in California and throughout the nation. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, he received his master's degree in public administration from California State University in Hayward.

David Haugen

David K. Haugen has more than 18 years professional experience in health care and health insurance policy, planning, and purchasing. He currently serves as a health policy advisor and coordinator to the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations (DOER), where he is staffing Governor Pawlenty's Health Cabinet, chaired by the DOER Commissioner, Cal Ludeman. Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Haugen was with the Labor Relations Division at DOER and responsible for strategic planning, legislative activities, and labor negotiations planning on health care and benefits issues for state employees. Mr. Haugen has also served as assistant commissioner for employee insurance and as manager of the Public Employees Insurance Program (PEIP) at DOER. Prior to joining DOER, Mr. Haugen served as acting director and in staff positions to the Minnesota Health Care Commission and as a policy analyst at the Center for Policy Studies in Minneapolis. Mr. Haugen has a master's degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota 's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

W. David Helms

W. David Helms, Ph.D., is president and CEO of AcademyHealth. He is also president and CEO of the Coalition for Health Services Research, AcademyHealth's advocacy arm. Dr. Helms serves as senior advisor on AcademyHealth's contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for its knowledge transfer and application initiatives. He is frequently invited to facilitate consensus processes on health policy issues and on the development of research agendas. He also serves on a number of health-related boards and advisory committees. Prior to his current position, Dr. Helms founded and directed the Alpha Center where he was president from 1976 - 2000. He received his doctorate in public administration and economics from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.

Jack Hoadley

Jack Hoadley is a health policy analyst and researcher with 20 years experience. He joined Georgetown University 's Health Policy Institute as a Research Professor in January 2002, with a primary focus on health financing topics, especially Medicare and Medicaid policy. Recent projects have included studies of formularies and other cost-containment approaches for prescription drugs, state experience with pharmaceutical assistance programs, the use of evidence-based medicine to manage pharmacy costs, early experiences with the Medicare discount drug card, and Medicare payment for cancer drugs. He is trained as a Ph.D. in political science and has worked in both academic and government settings. Previously, he held positions at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE); the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC) and its successor, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC); and the National Health Policy Forum.

Alan Levine

Alan Levine is the secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Prior to this, he was deputy chief of staff and health policy advisor to Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Mr. Levine has served in a variety of positions in health care leadership. At age 29, he was the youngest hospital chief executive officer in Florida and among the youngest in the nation, having been appointed as the CEO of Doctors' Memorial Hospital in Perry. More recently, Levine was the chief executive officer of South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, prior to being tapped by Governor Bush to lead the governor's health and human services team.

Mr. Levine received his bachelor's degree in health education (1990), masters in business administration and masters in healthcare administration (1992) from the University of Florida. His leadership was recognized by his induction to the University of Florida Hall of Fame, and his service to the university continues through his involvement on the Advisory Board to the College of Health Professions.

Jack Meyer

Jack A. Meyer, Ph.D., is the founder and president of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Dr. Meyer has conducted policy analysis and directed research on frontline issues in health care reform and social policy for 20 years. He is the author of numerous books, monographs, and articles on topics including health care, labor market and demographic trends, and policies to reduce poverty. Dr. Meyer is also the founder and president of New Directions for Policy, a health care consulting firm.

Ellen Schneiter

Ellen Jane Schneiter is the deputy director of Governor John Baldacci's Office of Health Policy & Finance, which is responsible for the implementation of the governor's health reform initiative. Ellen was formerly the executive director of the Maine Medical Assessment Foundation, a private physician quality improvement organization. She has also served as the director of the Maine Health Reform Commission, policy director for Maine 's hospital regulatory organization, and has held a variety of other health services research and policy positions in Maine state government. Her interests are Medicaid and health care financing.

Vernon K. Smith

Vernon Smith, Ph.D, is a principal with Health Management Associates, where he focuses on Medicaid, SCHIP, state budgets and trends in the health care marketplace. He has authored several reports on the effects of the economic downturn on Medicaid, on enrollment trends in Medicaid and SCHIP, and how states are responding to budget shortfalls.

Dr. Smith has spoken on these issues before many national and state audiences, including the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of State Budget Officers, the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, the National Health Policy Forum, committees of the U.S. Congress, and Medicaid reform groups in several states. He has been a guest on National Public Radio and quoted as an expert on these issues In the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and USA Today. Before joining HMA, Dr. Smith served as Medicaid director, as human services budget director, and as the director of research for the human services agency during his 30 years of public service in Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University.

Alan Weil

Alan R. Weil is the executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy organization dedicated to excellence in state health policy and practice. He spent seven years at The Urban Institute directing Assessing the New Federalism, one of the largest privately funded social policy research projects ever undertaken in the United States. He was also executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing - the cabinet position responsible for Colorado 's Medicaid and Medically Indigent programs, health data collection and analysis functions, health policy development, and healthcare reform. Mr. Weil is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Harvard Law School.

Seema Verma

 Seema Verma, a private consultant, serves as the Indiana State Planning Grant project director. She was the author of Indiana 's grant application, and has managed the grant since its award. Ms. Verma is the owner of SeemaVerma Consulting, and specializes in indigent health care issues, planning, evaluation, and management. Prior to consulting, She served as vice president of planning for the Health & Hospital Corporation (HHC) of Marion County, where she was responsible for managing the departments for outreach, grants, epidemiology and evaluation, strategic planning, the Wishard Advantage program (a managed care program for the indigent of Marion County) and for directing the HRSA-funded Community Access Program. Prior to her work at HHC, Ms. Verma worked as a project director with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). She received her master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.