Contact Kelly

Kelly Whitener

Kelly Whitener is an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families (CCF) where she focuses on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) policy at the state and federal levels. Recently, Kelly’s work has included research and policy analyses to improve care for children and families in immigrant communities. Prior to joining CCF, Kelly served as the Director of State Coverage Programs at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, overseeing the CHIP and Basic Health Program. Kelly also worked for the Senate Committee on Finance, managing the Medicaid, CHIP, and prevention and wellness portfolio from October 2008 to April 2014. During her time with the committee, Kelly worked on the CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and several year-end bills extending expiring safety net programs. Kelly studied psychology and Spanish at the University of Michigan and earned a Masters of Public Health from UCLA and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University.

Latest From Kelly

Removing Barriers to Vaccines for Kids Should be Top Priority

As the COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for adults, then teens and school-aged children, researchers are monitoring the vaccination trends for different groups. About a year after vaccines were approved for adults, almost 72% of the US adult population is fully vaccinated according to the most recent CDC data. Vaccines for teens ages 12 and […]

States Await Federal Action, Use Creative Ways to Fill Gaps in Health Coverage

Momentum is building in state capitals to expand access to health coverage for people left out by the current system, including people excluded from federal coverage options due to immigration status and Marketplace affordability rules known as the family glitch. But before getting into plans for 2022, let’s recap progress made in 2021. As my […]

Comments on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families submitted the following comments to the Department of Homeland Security on the notice of proposed rulemaking, “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.” DACA NPRM CCF final comment letter 11.29.21

Just One More Week to Comment on DACA!

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy in September, and comments are due Monday, November 29. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we applaud DHS for taking the important step of codifying the DACA policy in regulation, but we think there […]