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Elisabeth Wright Burak

Elisabeth Wright Burak is a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families (CCF) with two decades of experience in federal and state policies to support low-income children and families. She currently leads CCF work on Medicaid and young children’s healthy development. 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 From Elisabeth

Open Enrollment FAQ of the Week: What Does My Plan Cover?

With Open Enrollment now well underway, consumers are weighing their options for 2021 and trying to find the right plan that meets their health needs. As consumers make their decision, it is important for them to understand what they are buying and what coverage their plan provides. Throughout the enrollment period, the Georgetown University Center […]

Medicaid Managed Care Procurement: Opportunity for Transparency?

In most states, the responsibility for ensuring that children enrolled in Medicaid receive needed services rests with managed care organizations (MCOs).  They are stewards for millions of children and billions of Medicaid funding intended to meet children’s health care needs.  Yet there is little transparency about how individual MCOs are performing for children.  The logical […]

What Can We Expect from Biden Administration on Work Requirement Waivers?

As I was waiting to watch Vice President-elect Kamala Harris start her speech on Saturday night, I tweeted the following: Goodbye and good riddance to Medicaid work requirement waivers. — Joan Alker (@JoanAlker1) November 8, 2020 It proved to be a popular sentiment – at least on my twitter feed. As we have blogged about […]

What the Proposed “SUNSET” Regulation Means for Medicaid and CHIP

On November 4, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed  to require itself to review almost every regulation it has ever issued, including those affecting Medicaid and CHIP. It did so by proposing a new regulation, which has the misleading acronym “SUNSET” (Securing Updated and Necessary Statutory Evaluations Timely). A more appropriate acronym would […]

Medicaid and CHIP Coverage for Pregnant Women: Federal Requirements, State Options

Introduction Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are key supports for pregnant women and new mothers, as well as their children in the critical early years of life. Medicaid pays for nearly half of all births in the United States, including a greater share of births in rural areas, among young women, and […]