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Kelly Whitener

is an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families.

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

The Budget Resolution and Reconciliation Process Explained

In early 2021, we wrote about the basic rules for passing legislation in the House versus the Senate and how the budget reconciliation process allows certain legislation to move forward with approval from a simple majority of Senators rather than be subject to the filibuster and the usual three-fifths or 60-vote threshold. Given recent reports […]

Are Children Receiving the Full Protection of Medicaid’s Pediatric Benefit Package?

Medicaid covers over 30 million children, or about 40 percent of all children. Medicaid covers disproportionately large shares of low-income children, children of color, and children with special health care needs. Medicaid law and policy necessarily impact children, oftentimes children who would be uninsured or underinsured without it. Children with Medicaid coverage are entitled to […]

New Guidance from CMS Lifts Up Medicaid’s EPSDT Pediatric Benefit

Last month, CMS released a state health official (SHO) letter outlining the requirements states and managed care plans must meet under Medicaid’s pediatric benefit, known as Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment or EPSDT. The EPSDT SHO also describes some strategies and identifies best practices currently in use by states to meet the various […]

Courts Weigh Protections and Access to Health Care for DACA Recipients

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy continues to come under legal attack despite more than ten years of proven success – helping people who arrived in the US as children graduate from high school, go to college, and start their families and careers here. There are more than 500,000 DACA recipients (and many […]

An Explanation of Final Medicaid Managed Care and Access Rules

Executive Summary While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has overseen the steady growth in Medicaid coverage over recent years, CMS has faced the additional challenges of ensuring that coverage truly leads to meaningful access to care and that there is strong oversight. CMS recently finalized two key regulations: “Ensuring Access to Medicaid […]