Joan Alker

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Bio

Joan Alker

Joan Alker is the Executive Director and a Co-Founder of the Center for Children and Families (CCF), and a Research Professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. Her work focuses on health coverage for low-income children and families, with an emphasis on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Two of her most recent reports examine the role of Medicaid in rural areas and the nation's progress on covering children. She has authored numerous reports and studies on a range of issues including Medicaid waivers, premium assistance, and was the principal investigator of a multi-year study on Florida's Medicaid program.

A frequent speaker and commentator, Alker has twenty-five years of experience working on issues affecting low-income families. She holds a Master of Philosophy in politics from St. Antony’s College, Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science from Bryn Mawr College.

Please contact Cathy Hope (catherine.hope@georgetown.edu) with media queries or to set up an interview with Joan.

Latest From Joan

Medicaid as First Responder: Enrollment Is on the Rise

Introduction Medicaid is and will continue to play a central role in the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to both the health crisis and the ensuing economic crisis. With unemployment rapidly rising to double digits and workers (and their spouses and dependent children) losing their employer-sponsored insurance, it has been widely expected […]

As Expected, Medicaid Enrollment is Starting to Increase

As I keep saying, Medicaid is a first responder to the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to both the health crisis and the ensuing economic crisis. With unemployment rapidly rising to double digits, it was only a matter of time until Medicaid/CHIP started to see enrollment increases. Medicaid enrollment has long been closely aligned with the […]

Pandemic Induced Pragmatism: The State of Medicaid Waiver Policy

Amongst other ways in which life has dramatically changed in the last month, Section 1115 Medicaid waiver terrain has experienced a tectonic shift. For those of us who have been responding to massive numbers of public comment periods over the past two-plus years, only one waiver opened for public comment that we are commenting on […]

Indiana’s Own Medicaid Waiver Evaluation Shows Evidence of Coverage Losses

Indiana’s Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) demonstration, which has been approved in its current form since January 2015, has its extension application up for federal comment. If approved as is, the demonstration would be allowed to continue ten for years! The current HIP demonstration includes work requirements, a tiered benefit structure based on payment of monthly […]