Newswise — Health Policy Experts, from the GW School of Public Health and Health Services Department of Health Policy, are available to provide comment on today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed framework to assist states in building Affordable Insurance Exchanges. Starting in 2014, Exchanges will make it easy for individuals and small business to compare health plans, get answers to questions, find out if they are eligible for tax credits for private insurance or health programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and enroll in a health plan that meets their needs.

To interview any of these experts, please contact: Anne Banner at [email protected], office: 202-994-2261 or cell: 202-321-1389

Sara Rosenbaum, Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy; Professor of Health Care Sciences at GW's School of Medicine and Law

As a scholar, an educator and a national leader, Professor Rosenbaum has dedicated her career to promoting more equitable and effective health care policies in this country, particularly in the areas of Medicaid and Medicare, managed care, employee health benefits, maternal and child health, community health centers and civil rights in health care systems. Her commitment to strengthening access to care for low-income, minority and medically underserved populations has had a transforming effect on the lives of many Americans, particularly children. In addition to her responsibilities as Chair of the Department of Health Policy, which she founded and developed, Professor Rosenbaum is Director of the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program. As a mentor, she is drawn to young people interested in improving health care for the poor. "I am always on the lookout for students who have a keen desire not only to learn health policy, but to apply their knowledge to systemic problems that disproportionately affect low-income, medically underserved, or disabled children and adults," she says. Professor Rosenbaum has been named one of the nation's 500 most influential health policy makers. Among other honors, she has received the Investigator Award in Health Policy from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and has been recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services for distinguished national service on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries. As a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Clinton, she directed the drafting of the Health Security Act and oversaw the development of the Vaccines for Children program.

ResearchProfessor Rosenbaum's research focuses on the many ways in which the law intersects with the nation's health care and public health systems, with a particular emphasis on civil rights, quality of care, insurance coverage and managed care. She is co-author of Law and the American Health Care System, a widely used health law textbook.Expertise• Health Disparities• Health Insurance• Health Law• Health Law• Health Reform

Katherine Hayes, Associate Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services As a member of the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program, she specializes in legal and policy matters related to Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, private health insurance, long-term care, and health reform implementation.

She has over twenty-five years experience in health policy, serving Members of the House and Senate and a governor. Prior to joining SPHHS, she served vice president for health policy at Jennings Policy Strategies, Inc., as a health policy advisor to Senator Evan Bayh (IN), Senator John H. Chafee (RI) and Congressman Mickey Leland (TX). Her accomplishments include contributing to the enactment of legislation to: • expand long-term care options and consumer protections in Medicaid and the private long-term care insurance market; • establish pediatric quality measures in Medicaid and CHIP; • expand Medicaid coverage for low-income families by severing the link between Medicaid and welfare; and • establish Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) under the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, and to improve reimbursement for FQHCs. Other private sector experience includes legal practice with Hogan & Hartson, LLP (now Hogan Lovells), policy director for two large Catholic health systems, and Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. She also served as a program consultant for the State of Missouri Medicaid program.

At GW she teaches courses on federal advocacy and policymaking and the federal budget process. She has a B.A. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a J.D from the American University, Washington College of Law.ResearchAreas of research currently include health reform implementation, Medicaid, CHIP, private health insurance, and long-term care.Expertise• Children’s Health Insurance Program• Community Health Centers• Federal quality initiatives in Medicare and Medicaid• Health Policy• Long-Term Care• Medicaid and SCHIP• Private Insurance

Katie Horton, R.N., M.P.H., J.D., Research ProfessorKatie Horton is a research professor with the Department of Health Policy. Prior to joining DHP, Ms. Horton was president of Health Policy R&D, a health policy firm in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the law firm of Powell Goldstein LLP. Before establishing Health Policy R&D, Ms. Horton served as senior professional health staff specializing in Medicare financing issues for the United States Senate Committee on Finance. She was an advisor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) and other democratic senators and their staffs on federal health insurance issues and drafted a variety of legislative proposals involving improvements to Medicare and patient protections in the private health insurance market. Ms. Horton has broad experience working with Congressional advisory organizations such as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office and has also worked extensively with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Prior to her work with the Senate Committee on Finance, Ms. Horton served as the Legislative Director for Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) where she was responsible for the Member's legislative agenda regarding Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and social security issues. Ms. Horton also served as Director of Clinical Services for Operation Smile, a humanitarian organization providing health services to indigent children in developing countries.Expertise• Health Policy• Health Policy• Health Services Research• Health Services Research• Pharmaceutical Policy

Taylor Burke, J.D., L.L.M.Professor Taylor Burke, Assistant Professor of Health Law and Policy in the Department of Health Policy; Managing Director of the MPH in Health Policy programProfessor Taylor Burke specializes in legal and policy issues as they relate to health information technology (HIT). He has authored numerous articles, reports and white papers detailing the various legal barriers to HIT adoption and use, specifically with respect to the electronic health record. Professor Burke has served and continues to serve as one of the lead attorneys for the multi-year Legal Barriers to Health Information Project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the aim of which is to achieve greater transparency in health information for quality improvement purposes. Professor Burke has opined and written extensively on HIT legal issues, delivered speeches to health care providers regarding liability issues as they relate to HIT, and offered trainings regarding compliance with the law. Prior to joining the GW faculty in 2003, Professor Burke was an associate with the law firm of Hogan & Hartson where he practiced FDA law, general litigation and handled numerous pro bono adoption and public benefit cases. Professor Burke also teaches several courses in the MPH curriculum that relate to the intersection of health policy and the law, including Policy Approaches to Public Health, a section of Health Services & the Law, a bioethics course entitled Life, Death, & Human Subjects, and a doctoral seminar The Selective Excellence Initiative: Doctoral Pro-seminar of Teacher Preparation & Special Education. Additionally, Professor Burke conducts considerable research in the area of health care reform, including food and drug policy, managed care, and the rights of the disabled. Generally, Professor Burke's research includes various issues at the intersection of health policy and the law.

ResearchProfessor Burke's research focuses primarily on the many complex legal issues that lie at the heart of health information collection and use in today's emerging HIT environment. Revitalized efforts at health care reform include substantial investments in the "computerization" of paper medical records, and the arrival of the electronic health record carries many legal considerations for providers, health insurance companies, employers, public health researchers and governmental agencies regarding the proper collection and use of health information. Professor Burke's research portfolio aims to clarify both the real and perceived legal barriers for all stakeholders that accompany increased adoption and use of new information technologies.Expertise• Disabilities• Health Information Technology• Health Information Technology Policy• Managed Care Contracting• Rights of Disabled

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