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  • Topics
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    • Percent of Children Covered by Medicaid/CHIP by Congressional District, 2018
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Contact Joan

JoanAlker1 jca25@georgetown.edu

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

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      Latest From Joan

      Join Us in Welcoming Hannah and Tanesha to CCF Team

      Georgetown University Center for Children and Families is happy to welcome two new members to our team: Hannah Green and Tanesha Mondestin. Hannah Green joins us as the new communications manager. In this role, she will work with CCF Communications Director Cathy Hope to share CCF’s research and analysis with you and others through our […]

      Celebrating Health Care Gains Ushered in by Affordable Care Act

      It’s been 13 years since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law. At the time my daughter was in elementary school and I didn’t much think about what would happen to her health insurance – but now as she seems very grown up and is about to graduate from college and search for […]

      CCF, Pediatricians Urge State Leaders to Shield Children from Losing Medicaid Coverage

      State-by-State Report Shows Medicaid Now Covers More Than Half of U.S. Children This week we teamed up with our colleagues at the American Academy of Pediatrics to release a report and discuss the high stakes for children when the Medicaid continuous coverage protection expires. Medicaid and CHIP now cover 54% of children in the United […]

      Child Uninsured Rate Could Rise Sharply if States Don’t Proceed with Caution

      Policy Landscape Medicaid is the backbone of the nation’s health care system providing coverage to those for whom private insurance is not available or affordable and is now the primary coverage source (along with CHIP) for America’s children. Medicaid covers approximately 83.5 million people (including more than 34.2 million children) — a 31 percent increase […]

      Hundreds of Thousands of Children Could Lose Coverage in Florida Alone as U.S. Approaches High Stakes Medicaid Unwinding

      As readers of SayAhhh! know, Congress has given the green light to states to begin checking eligibility for all Medicaid beneficiaries who have been protected from disenrollment by federal law since the Families First Covid Relief Act passed in March 2020. Terminations can begin on April 1, 2023; states have a year to complete the […]

      • Topics
        • Medicaid
        • Waivers
        • CHIP
        • Health Equity
        • Unwinding the PHE
        • Rural Health
      • Blog
      • Maps
        • Percent of Children Covered by Medicaid/CHIP by Congressional District, 2018
        • Percent of Adults Covered by Medicaid/CHIP by Congressional District, 2018
        • 2016 Maps and Data
        • 2015 Maps and Data
      • State Data Hub
      • Research
        • Research & Reports
        • Comments on Federal Regulations
      • Projects
      • About Us
        • Faculty and Staff
        • Contact Us
        • Funders
        • News
        • Jobs
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • RSS

      The Center for Children & Families (CCF), part of the Health Policy Institute at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, is a nonpartisan policy and research center with a mission to expand and improve high-quality, affordable health coverage. Founded in 2005, CCF is devoted to improving the health of America’s children and families, particularly those with low and moderate incomes. Contact Us

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