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Elisabeth Wright Burak

is a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families.

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Elisabeth Wright Burak is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families (CCF) with more than two decades of experience in federal and state policies to support low-income children and families. She currently leads CCF projects on Medicaid’s role in supporting early childhood development (prenatal to age 6) and maternal health. Since joining CCF in 2011, Elisabeth has worked on a range of health coverage issues, such as state Medicaid expansion and the 2015 CHIP extension in Congress. She previously served as Director of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs with Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families, where she led successful efforts to expand access to ARKids First (Medicaid and CHIP for Arkansas children) and aided other victories for families at the state capitol, including tax relief for low-income Arkansans and increased access to health and education programs. Elisabeth first returned to her home state in 2006 to direct the Arkansas Department of Human Services Office of Policy and Planning, where she guided cross-system initiatives such as children’s behavioral health reform. She began her career in early care and education policies at the National Governors Association and The Finance Project in Washington, D.C. Elisabeth holds Master of Public Policy and Master of Social Work degrees from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in social psychology from Smith College.

Latest

  • State Momentum for Maternal Health Legislation Continues: Congressional Cuts Would Turn Back the Clock

    The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of high-income countries and over 80% of maternal deaths are preventable. To improve maternal health outcomes, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act was introduced in the 117th and 118th by Representative Alma Adams and Representative Lauren Underwood, and Senator Cory Booker. The Momnibus Act is a set…

  • The U.S. Already Has a Child Care Crisis: Medicaid Cuts Would Make it Much Worse

    Working parents don’t need survey data to tell them our nation is facing a serious child care crisis. They are reminded every time they pay their child care bill that often exceeds even the high cost of rent. Expectant parents learn about it when they add their names to long waitlists even before their child…

  • Medicaid Cuts Would Weaken Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Developmental Delays

    Yesterday the House reconfirmed its intent to make massive cuts to Medicaid after the Senate rubber stamped the plan last week. Despite repeated polls – including one from President Trump’s polling firm Fabrizio Ward –  showing large majorities of American voters do not want to see Medicaid cut, Congress is moving full steam ahead to…

  • CMS Announces State Recipients of the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model

    Last year, CMS announced a grant opportunity to boost state Medicaid agency efforts to improve maternal health in the United States. The Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model seeks to help states develop a comprehensive approach to the perinatal period that addresses the whole person’s physical, mental health, and social needs that may be experienced during…

  • Medicaid Managed Care: Transparency for Young Children in 12 States

    Regular Say Ahhh! readers know that most children covered by Medicaid in most states received their coverage through private insurance companies, or managed care organizations (MCOs).  We believe that publicly-available data on Medicaid managed care performance is key to fully understanding how well Medicaid MCOs are working for children. Consistent, MCO-level data helps identify gaps…