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Joan Alker

is the Executive Director of the Center for Children and Families and a Research Professor at the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy.

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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, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She is the lead author of a widely cited annual report on the status of children’s coverage. Alker has authored numerous studies and blogs on a range of issues including children’s health, Medicaid waivers, premium assistance, and published in journals such as Health Affairs, NEJM, BJM, and JAMA.

A frequent speaker and commentator, Alker is routinely quoted in major media outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, Wall St Journal, KFF Health News, and Politico. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Northern Virginia Health Foundation and is an elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. 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

  • CCF Submits Comments on Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements Interim Final Rule

    Today, CCF submitted public comments on CMS’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) implementing H.R. 1-mandated Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements (WRRs). As we’ve written about time and time again, WRR policies are harmful, create unnecessary barriers to coverage, and will result in coverage losses without actually supporting work. Nonetheless, H.R. 1 has required most states to impose…

  • Senator Kim Introduces Bill to Cover All Children and Young Adults

    Last week, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced a bill called the “MediKids Act” (S. 5037), described as “guaranteed healthcare for every child in America.” Original cosponsors were Sens. Booker (NJ), Duckworth (IL), Lujan (NM) and Padilla (CA) – all Democrats and the bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. As regular readers of the…

  • Trump Administration Issues Final Public Charge Rule, Ignores Public Comments on Harm to Children

    On July 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  issued final regulations lifting current rules used to determine whether an immigrant is likely to become a “public charge”. The final rule, which takes effect on September 18, eliminates a century of established policy, carefully calibrated to address policy issues and undefined terms in…

  • Georgetown CCF Medicaid/CHIP Expert Tricia Brooks Retires (sort of) and Will Return as Professor Emeritus

    For anyone who has worked with Tricia Brooks over the last twenty years, it is impossible to imagine her retiring. Tricia has been the heart and soul of much of the Center for Children and Families’ work with state and national partners and a leading national expert on Medicaid eligibility and enrollment, health care quality,…

  • Young Children’s Uninsurance is On the Rise – What Can Be Done to Protect Child Health?

    Earlier this month, we released an analysis of uninsurance trends that found that young children were becoming uninsured at a faster rate than their school-aged peers. The trend is alarming and predates the massive declines we are seeing in child Medicaid enrollment since President Trump took office and before H.R. 1 Medicaid cuts and policy…