Health Care Access & Financing

This committee is responsible for issues related to providing health insurance coverage as well as financing, organization, and regulation of the health care system.  Areas of expertise include financing, Medicaid, SCHIP, coverage expansions, insurance regulation, cost containment, and purchasing strategies.

Chair
Christopher Koller, MM, MAR
Health Insurance Commissioner
Office of Health Insurance Commissioner
State of Rhode Island
Cranston, RI
 

Vice Chair
K. Joseph Flores
Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Senate Finance Committee
Virginia State Senate
Richmond, VA
 

Jane Beyer, JD
Senior Counsel
Washington State House of Representatives
Democratic Caucus Staff
Olympia, WA

Carrie Bridges, MPH
Team Lead
Health Disparities & Access to Care
Rhode Island Department of Health
Providence, RI

Vivian Figures
State Senator
Alabama State Legislature
Mobile, AL

Len Finocchio, DrPH
Associate Director
California Department of Health Care Services
Sacramento, CA

Richard Gottfried, JD
Chair, Committee on Health
New York State Assembly
New York, NY

William (Bill) Hazel, Jr., MD
Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Virginia Office of the Governor
Richmond, VA

J. Ruth Kennedy
LaCHIP Director
LaCHIP
Baton Rouge, LA

Tricia Leddy
Senior Health Policy Advisor
Rhode Island Department of Health
Providence, RI

Scott Leitz, MPA
Assistant Commissioner
Minnesota Department of Human Services
St. Paul, MN

Rebecca Pasternik-Ikard, JD, MS, RN
Deputy State Medicaid Director
Oklahoma Health Care Authority
Oklahoma City, OK

Jeanene Smith, MD, MPH
Administrator
Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research
Salem, OR

Norman Thurston, PhD
Health Reform Implementation Coordinator
State of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT

Julie Weinberg
Director, Medical Assistance Division
New Mexico Human Services Department
Santa Fe, NM