Contact Alisa

Alisa Chester

Alisa Chester is a Research Associate at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families (CCF). At CCF she focuses on providing quantitative and qualitative research to support the availability of health coverage for low-income children and families, with particular emphasis on the ACA, Medicaid, and CHIP.

Prior to her role at CCF, Alisa worked as a Project Associate at CAQH Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE) where she developed and assisted the implementation of administrative simplification rules as mandated in the ACA to streamline eligibility, benefits, and claims data administration. Alisa has also worked for the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR).

Alisa received her Master of Arts from The George Washington University and Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Latest From Alisa

States Work to Curb Drug Spending: Tight Budgets Lead to New Approaches to Managing Costs

Prescription drug spending in the United States continues to grow, totaling $477 billion in 2016. Spending by Medicaid, which is jointly funded by states and the federal government, surpassed $31 billion that year. These rising costs have strained state budgets, leading policymakers to look for strategies—within Medicaid and beyond—to better manage spending while ensuring a patient’s access to […]

Impact of Medicaid on Children: Latest Research Findings

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health coverage to more than one-third of the children in the United States. The vast majority of these children, more than 90 percent, are covered through Medicaid. A large body of research shows that access to Medicaid in childhood leads to longer, healthier lives, a better chance to […]

CBO: Repealing ACA Would Double Number of Uninsured in Two Years

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released an updated projection on how repealing the ACA through budget reconciliation would lead to rising numbers of uninsured and increases in premiums on the marketplace. CBO based projections on the Reconciliation Act passed in 2015 and vetoed by President Obama, which would have […]

Latino Children’s Coverage Reaches Historic High, But Too Many Remain Uninsured

Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau examining health insurance coverage rates in 2015 found that, during the 2013-2015 period, the U.S. experienced the largest two-year decline in uninsurance rates for all children on record. The uninsurance rate for all children declined from 7.1 percent in 2013 to 4.8 percent in 2015. During the […]

Fact Sheet: Medicaid’s Role for Young Children

Today, more than 45 million children have coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). For the nation’s youngest children, Medicaid and CHIP play an outsized role, covering 45 percent of children under the age of six, compared to 35 percent of children between the ages of six and 18.