From Policy to Practice: Operationalizing CMS Rules and the Compounding Effects of H.R. 1

Jennifer McGuigan Babcock is ACAP’s Senior Vice President for Medicaid Policy. She also spent over four years as ACAP’s Vice President for Exchanges. In 2010, she served the Eligibility and Enrollment team within the Office of Health Insurance Exchanges in the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO, now known as CCIIO), focusing primarily on the interplay between Medicaid and Exchange coverage. Before joining OCIIO, Jennifer served as ACAP’s Director of Policy, working on Medicaid and CHIP health plan issues. Previously, she worked on policy related to Medicaid, CHIP, the uninsured, and private health insurance in the Office of Health Policy for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Gary is the recent former Deputy Executive Commissioner for Medical and Social Services in Texas, the largest division in the Health and Human Services System. In that position Gary oversaw four departments and a $50 billion budget, bringing together client services, including eligibility services, Medicaid/CHIP services and functions, and community programs under one coordinated division. Prior to this, Gary served as the State Medicaid Director where he was responsible for overseeing services and supports for more than four million Texans across the state. He also previously served as the Chief Deputy Director for Program Operations in the Medicaid/CHIP Division. Before joining Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Gary served as Assistant Commissioner for the Access and Intake Division at the Department of Aging and Disability Services, where he was responsible for overseeing functions of the Area Agencies on Aging, Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authorities, Community Services and Program Operations, Community Living Assistance and Support Services, Contracts, Guardianship services and other specialized programs. Gary is the past President of the Board of Directors of National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD).

Deborah joined Sellers Dorsey with over 15 years of experience designing and implementing innovative care delivery programs related to digital community resource platforms and value-based payment initiatives. Deborah served as Associate Director, Delivery System Reform, at Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) in New Jersey, where she helped address social determinants of health by supporting health plan partnerships through innovative Medicaid managed care policy and contracting strategies. Before that role, Deborah was a Senior Program Officer at CHCS. Notably, she led technical assistance for 38 states participating in the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Innovation’s State Innovation Model initiative as they designed and tested pioneering care delivery and value-based payment models to achieve the quadruple aim. Before her time at CHCS, Deborah worked for NYC Health + Hospitals as Director, Patient-Centered Medical Home Program & Connectx. During her tenure, she guided the application process for 37 primary care sites recognized by NCQA as Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Additionally, Deborah was responsible for identifying and implementing operational best practices for enhanced access to NYC Health + Hospitals’ ambulatory care services and defined performance measurement dashboards to monitor improvements.

Stephanie has extensive experience in Medicaid policy, leading the state affairs work for a major Medicaid MCO, AmeriHealth Caritas. Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas in 2017, Myers served as the Manager of Waiver Operations at the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. In this role, she supported the coordination and implementation of all provisions of the state’s Medicaid Section 1115 Comprehensive Waiver. She also worked at the New Jersey Department of the Treasury’s Division of Pensions and Benefits from 2005 to 2013.

Rob Nelb, MPH, is the Director of Policy for America’s Essential Hospitals. Previously, he was a principal analyst at the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission and a project officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Nelb holds a master’s degree in public health and a bachelor’s degree in ethics, politics, and economics from Yale University.

Jack Rollins joined NAMD in April 2014. He is responsible for the association’s policy work, including analysis of legislation and regulations impacting the Medicaid program, convening Medicaid Directors and their staffs to identify and build consensus around policy objectives, and articulating members’ consensus positions via comment letters and other communications to federal policymakers and Medicaid stakeholders. In his time at NAMD, Jack has focused specifically on the areas of Medicaid prescription drug coverage, managed care, and long-term services and supports.

Prior to joining NAMD, Jack interned at a safety net hospital association, a small lobbying firm specializing in healthcare issues, and performed policy work for a nonprofit organization of women state legislators.