Joan Alker

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Bio

Joan Alker

Joan Alker is the Executive Director 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 authors an annual report on the nation’s progress on covering children. In addition, she writes about 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 decades 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

Public Comments are Virtually Unanimous Against Mississippi’s Harmful Medicaid Proposal

Last month, federal CMS reopened the public comment period on Mississippi’s proposed Section 1115 Medicaid work requirements waiver at the same time as Kentucky’s comment period was reopened. Mississippi’s proposal has not garnered as much attention as Kentucky’s,  which as regular readers of SayAhhh! know, is currently on hold due to a federal court decision. […]

Coverage Losses Begin From Mean-spirited Trump Administration Medicaid Policy  

The first round of data just released by the state of Arkansas (the first state nationwide to implement a work requirement with a lockout) shows that 4,353 adults lost coverage retroactively to September 1st.  The data continue to show a clear lack of awareness about the new reporting requirements with thousands more set to lose […]

Who Are Florida’s Remaining Uninsured Children?

Last fall we wrote an issue brief about children’s health coverage in Florida. Florida’s child uninsured rate has reached a new low of 6.2% – although the state still lags behind the national average of 4.5% and has one of the highest uninsured rates in the South. This progress is the result of years of […]

Thousands of Arkansans Face Losing Health Coverage Due to New Red Tape Rules

[Editor’s Note: According to the latest press reports, more than 4,500 Arkansas Works enrollees lost their health coverage for failing to comply with the program’s work requirement for three months. CCF staff will continue to monitor this situation and update readers when more information is available.] Thousands of adults in Arkansas will likely lose their […]