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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.

Joan Alker is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Children and Families (CCF), and a Research Professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. She is a nationally recognized expert on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and is the lead author of CCF’s annual report on children’s health care coverage trends. Alker has published in journals such as JAMA and Health Affairs and has written numerous reports, blogs, and other commentary on a wide range of issues including Medicaid Section 1115 waivers, child and family health, the role of Medicaid in rural areas, and numerous reports on premium assistance for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Alker has testified before Congress, served on expert advisory panels to the federal government, and is a frequent speaker and commentator; she is routinely quoted in major national and state media outlets such as the New York Times, NPR, Politico, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Kaiser Health News. Joan Alker 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. Follow Joan on Twitter @JoanAlker1

Latest From Joan

Biden Administration Adds Protections to Keep Children Covered in CHIP

Today the Biden Administration announced the final federal regulation “Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes” which, among other things, eliminates outdated red tape barriers to coverage for children insured through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that have been in place since its […]

A Profile of Mississippi’s Low-Wage Uninsured Workers (Updated March 2024)

Download Full Report (PDF) Introduction Mississippi remains one of only ten states in the nation that have not yet accepted enhanced federal Medicaid funding to cover low-income adults with incomes up to $20,783 per year1. In addition to a permanent enhanced federal match of 90% that is available to states to cover this group, the […]

Where do Things Stand with Medicaid Unwinding at the Halfway Point?

KFF’s new research finds that states have reported outcomes for about half of Medicaid renewals nationwide, and so far 16.2 million people have been disenrolled. Meanwhile, our CCF tracker (which accounts for movement on and off the program as well as new enrollment by looking at net enrollment change in each state) shows a 9.37 […]