Medicaid Leadership Academy
October 8-10, 2025
Washington Marriott Georgetown
Washington, D.C.
The CSG Medicaid Leadership Academy is tailored for members of the legislative and executive branches who are well versed in the intricacies of Medicaid policy and are interested in further discussion and examination of the issues.
Agenda
All events take place in the District meeting room on the 3rd floor of the hotel unless otherwise noted.
Wednesday, October 8
1:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Registration
Location: District Meeting Room Pre-Function
2:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Welcome and Introductions
- Sean Slone, Public Policy Manager, The Council of State Governments
- David Adkins, Executive Director/CEO, The Council of State Governments
- Gov. Josh Green, 2025 CSG National President (video welcome)
Co-Hosts:
- Cheryl Roberts, Director, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
- Sen. Elgie R. Sims Jr., Majority Caucus Appropriations Leader; 2025 CSG National Chair
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Leader Roundtable
Interactive session with attendees on legislative plans for 2026 sessions that could impact Medicaid. Attendees will be invited to respond to three questions:
- What are my Medicaid-related legislative or policy priorities for 2026?
- What piece of Medicaid-related legislation or policy that I have championed should you ask me about?
- What am I hoping to learn at this academy?
3:30 – 4:00 p.m.
The Fiscal State of State Medicaid Programs
An overview of state revenues and state spending and how Medicaid may factor into budget concerns going forward.
Speaker:
- Brian Sigritz, Director of State Fiscal Studies, National Association of State Budget Officers
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Top Issues in Medicaid 2025
Experts discuss pivotal developments this year in dramatically reshaping the Medicaid program, what policymakers need to be focused on going into their 2026 legislative sessions, and Medicaid resources available to them to learn more.
Panelists:
- Hannah Maniates, Director of Medicaid Programming, National Association of Medicaid Directors
- Jennifer Moore, PhD, RN, FAAN, Founding Executive Director, Institute for Medicaid Innovation
- Robin Rudowitz, Vice President and Director for Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured, KFF
5:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Break
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Opening Reception
Location: Washington Marriott Georgetown, Quad 2&3, 3rd floor
Thursday, October 9
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast
Location: District Pre-Function
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
The Federal Government’s Approach to Medicaid
A senior official from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will discuss the administration’s plans for the Medicaid program and how states can work with the agency to serve beneficiaries.
Speaker:
- Grant Thomas, Senior Advisor, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
NOTE: Government shutdown may change the focus and format of this session.
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Medicaid Innovation and Annual MCO Survey Findings
The Institute for Medicaid Innovation conducts an annual survey of Medicaid managed care organizations that provides a window into such areas as high-risk care coordination, maternal and perinatal health, child and adolescent health, behavioral health, long-term services and supports, and social determinants of health. During this annual Medicaid Leadership Academy session, the organization’s founding executive director will discuss the latest survey, areas within Medicaid that are ripe for innovation in the years ahead and what CMS and state Medicaid agencies may be signaling about their priorities moving forward.
Speaker:
- Jennifer Moore, PhD, RN, FAAN, Founding Executive Director, Institute for Medicaid Innovation
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Medicaid and Rural Health, Mental Health and Nutrition
As H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill, was being debated this summer, U.S. Senators from both parties raised concerns about the potential impacts of Medicaid cuts on rural hospitals and other providers, prompting the inclusion of a Rural Health Transformation Program with a $50 Billion fund to partially offset reductions in rural areas. But, there are also concerns that Medicaid cuts will decrease access to mental health and substance treatment, exacerbating the nation’s behavioral health crisis. This session will highlight both issues and include a presentation on how “Food is Medicine” interventions are garnering attention from policymakers and health care professionals alike for their potential to improve health outcomes.
Speakers:
- Maya Sandalow, Associate Director, Bipartisan Policy Center Topic: Rural Health Transformation Program
- Tim Clement, Vice President of Federal Government Affairs, Mental Health America Topic: Future of Mental Health Care
- Emily Holubowich, National Senior Vice President of Federal Advocacy, American Heart Association Topic: Food is Medicine
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch
Location: District Pre-Function
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Health Champion Conversations
In a series of short presentations, private sector health interests discuss innovations in medicine and health care delivery that touch the Medicaid population and potential policy activities to support them.
Speakers:
- Frederick Ryan, Director, Policy & Government Relations, Alkermes Topic: Expanding Access to Antipsychotic Long-Acting Injectables
- Anne Murray, Director, State Government Affairs, Bristol Myers Squibb Topic: Impact of 340B Program Expansion on State Medicaid Budgets
- April Gutmann, Senior Manager – Government Affairs and Policy, Diabetes Leadership Council Topic: True Cost of Medicaid Cuts for Diabetes
- Carter Harrison, Senior Director of State Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, Alzheimer’s Association Topic: Using Medicaid for Early Detection and Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
How States Are Preparing for Federal Medicaid Cuts
As federal cuts in H.R. 1 begin to take effect over the next few years, policymakers will be challenged with identifying the priorities and principles within state Medicaid programs they want to retain and ways to ensure they can do so. This session will include an overview highlighting how some states were already facing significant Medicaid budget challenges, how state policymakers warned about the potential impact of cuts, and how some states have already taken action to prevent feared outcomes from taking place. Plus, attendees from key states will be invited to talk about how their states are preparing for what’s ahead.
Speakers:
- Josh Goodman, Senior Officer – State Fiscal Health, The Pew Charitable Trusts
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Enacting Medicaid Work Requirements: Lessons for States
Under H.R. 1, states are required to implement Medicaid community engagement requirements by December 31, 2026 or sooner for certain individuals enrolled in the program. While work requirements represent a significant policy shift at the federal level, states that have implemented them in the past may provide lessons for the future. And while work requirements and more frequent redeterminations of eligibility present an increased risk for disruptions in coverage, evidence-based workforce programs may be able to help minimize those effects. A panel of experts will discuss these issues and call on attendees from key states where work requirements have been implemented in the past or where they’ve started thinking about how to implement them now.
Speakers:
- Leonardo Cuello, Research Professor, Center for Children and Families, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy
- Michael Karpman, Principal Research Associate, Health Policy Division, Urban Institute
- Gary Jessee, Senior Vice President, National Consulting, Sellers Dorsey
- Tricia McGinnis, MPP, MPH, Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer, Center for Health Care Strategies
4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Break
5:00 p.m. –
Small Group Dinners
Attendees can stop at CSG registration desk to sign up for one of three restaurants: Founding Farmers (American), North Italia (Italian) and Rasika West End (Modern Indian). Groups will depart at 5 p.m. from the front of the hotel. All restaurants are within walking distance of the Washington Marriott Georgetown.
Friday, October 10
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast
Location: District Pre-Function
9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Medicaid Program
As the 2025 Medicaid Leadership Academy draws to a close, speakers will discuss the biggest challenges facing the Medicaid program including the health care workforce, the future of programs to serve older adults and people with disabilities, the struggles of rural and safety net hospitals, and the new administrative burdens presented by Medicaid work requirements. Attendees will also hear about opportunities policymakers may have to make a positive difference during the 2026 legislative sessions and about tools and resources to facilitate and inform the work of state government.
Speakers:
- Hemi Tewarson, Executive Director, National Academy for State Health Policy
- Alison Barkoff, J.D., Hirsh Health Law & Policy Associate Professor and Director of the Hirsh Health Law & Policy Program, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University; former Administrator, Administration for Community Living (2021-24)
- Betsy Baker, HHS Leader – Integrated Eligibility and Medicaid, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Angela D. Thomas, DrPH, MPH, MBA, Vice President for Healthcare Delivery Research, Medstar Health
- Matt Salo, Founder & CEO, Salo Health Strategies; Founding Executive Director, National Association of Medicaid Directors (2011-22)
Nicole Jarrett, Senior Policy Advisor, Corrections and Reentry, The Council of State Governments Justice Center
11:00 – 11:05 a.m.
Concluding Remarks and Adjournment
Speakers
Betsy Baker
HHS Leader – Integrated Eligibility and Medicaid
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Betsy Baker is the National SLG health services leader for Amazon Web Services’ (AWS’) state and local government team. In this role, she engages with Medicaid and Human Services agencies across the U.S. to invent new ways to leverage technology to improve the constituent experience in government social and benefits programs — including addressing constituent engagement and workforce challenges. Prior to AWS, Baker was a director of client services at a mid-market healthcare analytics firm, where she curated an analytics solution for Medicaid agencies to identify top spend on beneficiaries and link to clinical data to influence program frameworks. Baker holds her master’s in public health from the University of Colorado with an emphasis in health systems management and policy.
Alison Barkoff
Associate Professor & Director, Hirsh Health Law & Policy Program
George Washington University
Prior to joining George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health in October 2024, Alison Barkoff, J.D., led the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as administrator and assistant secretary for aging. In addition, she has served as the advisor to the HHS secretary on aging and disability policy, oversaw national disability and aging programs, and led cross-agency initiatives related to long-term services and supports, civil rights, housing, workforce, family caregiving, healthy aging and public health.
As part of work earlier in her career, Barkoff was special counsel for Olmstead Enforcement in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, helping enforce the rights of people with disabilities to allow them to live and fully participate in their communities. She also led interagency initiatives as special policy advisor with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on long-term services and supports and with the U.S. Department of Labor on direct care workforce issues. Barkoff is a graduate of Cornell University and Emory University School of Law.
Tim Clement works with Congress and the federal agencies to advance substantive mental health policy. Prior to joining Mental Health America, Clement was the director of legislative development at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) where he wrote state and federal laws on a wide array of mental health topics. Before working at APA, Clement was the senior policy advisor for the Kennedy Forum. He is considered one of the top experts in the country on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and has helped state and federal regulators enforce the parity act.
As a research professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families (CCF), Leonardo Cuello, J.D., focuses his work on Medicaid and Marketplace waiver authority, Medicaid managed care, payment and delivery system reform, Medicaid expansion and Medicaid benefit packages. He has worked on Medicaid law and policy for the past two decades, most recently as the health policy director of the National Health Law Program, where he has been involved in many of the major issues and litigation of recent times, such as work requirements. Before joining the National Health Law Program, Cuello worked for the Pennsylvania Health Law Project (PHLP) for six years, focusing on a wide range of health care issues dealing with eligibility and access to services in Medicaid and Medicare. At PHLP, he ran a project focused on immigrant and Latino health care, including direct representation of low-income immigrants and Latinos, and worked on numerous Medicaid eligibility and services issues through direct representation and policy work. Cuello graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Josh Goodman helps lead research on fiscal management and long-term budget sustainability as part of The Pew Charitable Trust’s state fiscal health project. He has also served as a primary author for Pew studies that examine how states should evaluate tax incentives and maintain budget discipline when implementing those incentives. Goodman has testified before legislative committees in many states, including Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, as well as at the city councils of New York City and Philadelphia. Goodman was previously a journalist, working as a staff writer for Stateline and covering state and local government for Governing magazine. Goodman holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from the University of Virginia.
Nicole Jarrett
Senior Policy Advisor, Corrections and Reentry
Justice Center, The Council of State Governments
Nicole Jarrett provides guidance on diversion, treatment, and reentry initiatives. She previously served as director and deputy director of the Corrections and Reentry Division. Prior to this role, Jarrett served as the director of health policy research at the National Medical Association, where she led projects to strengthen the public health safety net and improve the quality of care provided in underserved communities. She also served as the director of community health policy at the Baltimore City Health Department, where she directed the city’s participation in the Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved Initiative. She received her bachelor’s of science from Rutgers University and her Ph.D. in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center of Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research at Rutgers University.
Emily Holubowich
National Senior Vice President of Federal Advocacy
American Heart Association
Emily Holubowich has more than 20 years of experience in health and fiscal policy, government relations, strategic communications and organization management. She is frequently sought out by the media for her expertise on health policy, serves as a lecturer in health policy and management at the George Washington University, and is called upon by national organizations to lecture on the policy environment and best practices in strategic communications and advocacy. Previously, Holubowich was a senior vice president at CRD Associates, where she worked with several clients in the public health community — including the Coalition for Health Funding as its Executive Director for 10 years. Prior to CRD Associates, Holubowich was the director of government relations for AcademyHealth and a senior health policy analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Holubowich holds a master of public policy from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Gary Jessee
Senior Vice President, National Consulting
Sellers Dorsey
Gary Jessee is the recent former Deputy Executive Commissioner for Medical and Social Services in Texas, the largest division in the Health and Human Services System. In that position Jessee oversaw four departments and a $50 billion budget, bringing together client services, including eligibility services, Medicaid/CHIP services and functions, and community programs under one coordinated division. Prior to this, Jessee served as the State Medicaid Director where he was responsible for overseeing services and supports for more than four million Texans. He also previously served as the Chief Deputy Director for Program Operations in the Medicaid/CHIP Division. Before joining Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Jessee served as Assistant Commissioner for the Access and Intake Division at the Department of Aging and Disability Services, where he was responsible for overseeing functions of the Area Agencies on Aging, Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authorities, Community Services and Program Operations, Community Living Assistance and Support Services, Contracts, Guardianship services and other specialized programs. He is the past President of the Board of Directors of National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD).
As a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, Michael Karpman focuses his work on the implications of the Affordable Care Act, including quantitative analysis related to health insurance coverage, access to and affordability of health care, use of health care services, and health status. This work includes efforts to help coordinate and analyze data from the Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey. Before joining Urban in 2013, Karpman was a senior associate at the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families. He received his master of public policy from Georgetown University.
Hannah Maniates leads the National Association of Medicaid Directors’ (NAMD) state-to-state learning program, connecting Medicaid agencies to share strategies and address common challenges. This program uses role-based affinity groups, interdisciplinary workgroups, issue briefs, and other resources to support state and territory leaders in operating effective Medicaid programs.
Before joining NAMD, Maniates worked in substance use and mental health policy, holding roles at the city of Boston’s Office of Recovery Services, the National Center for PTSD at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative’s addiction and overdose team. She holds a master of public health in health systems and policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and biology from Wesleyan University.
Tricia McGinnis
Executive Vice President & Chief Program Officer
Center for Health Care Strategies
Tricia McGinnis, MPP, MPH, leads programmatic work at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), which encompasses payment and delivery system reform and integrated care for populations with complex health and social needs. She works closely with program staff, funders and a wide range of Medicaid stakeholders to manage a large portfolio of innovative projects that aim to fundamentally improve care delivery and create more equitable health outcomes for Medicaid enrollees. McGinnis also works with the CEO to develop and execute CHCS’ program strategy.
McGinnis has substantial experience working directly with state Medicaid agencies, health plans and providers to advance innovative alternative payment models for Medicaid populations, including accountable care organizations and multi-payer models (e.g., State Innovation Model grants). She has also led work with states in developing Medicaid policy approaches designed to promote health equity, population health and address social drivers of health, as well as efforts to more meaningfully engage community members in the design of effective policies and care models. Prior to joining CHCS in 2010, McGinnis managed the provider performance measurement, improvement, and transparency program as a senior program manager at Blue Shield of California.
Jennifer E. Moore
Founding Executive Director
Institute for Medicaid Innovation
Jennifer Moore, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, is an internationally recognized leader in Medicaid and maternal child health with more than 30 years of experience bridging clinical practice, research and policy. She is the founding executive director of the Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) and an assistant research professor in the University of Michigan Medical School’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In these roles, Moore brings together payers, clinicians, researchers and government partners to design and evaluate innovative approaches to maternal health. Her work addresses critical issues such as alternative payment models, inequities and disparities, social determinants of health, community voice and partnership, and a full range of perinatal topics.
Moore’s current work includes a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation–funded project to assess Medicaid access and coverage through the first national longitudinal survey of Medicaid managed care organizations. She previously held leadership roles with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Michigan Nurses Association, the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and Women of Impact, Moore earned her Ph.D. and master’s degrees in health systems and policy, as well as her bachelor’s degree in nursing, from the University of Michigan.
Vice President
Kaiser Family Foundation
Director
Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Robin Rudowitz oversees all work on Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and low-income populations, including coverage, eligibility, financing, delivery systems, access, and long-term services and supports. Prior to joining KFF in 2004, she was a senior manager at the Lewin Group, a health policy and management consulting firm. Rudowitz has worked on budget and health policy issues in various government agencies, including the Office of Legislation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer for the District of Columbia, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Ways and Means Committee for the New York State Assembly. Rudowitz holds a bachelor’s degree in policy analysis and a master’s degree in public administration from Cornell University.
Founder & CEO
Salo Health Strategies
Founding Executive Director
National Association of Medicaid Directors (2011-22)
Matt Salo is the founder and CEO of Salo Health Strategies, a boutique health care consulting firm in the Washington, D.C., area that specializes in strategic advice, health care policy, Medicaid market development and relationship building across 56 states and U.S. territories. He is also the founding executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD), having started the association in February 2011 and remaining until he stepped down in August 2022. Salo formerly spent 12 years at the National Governors Association, where he worked on the Governors’ health care and human services reform agendas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in eastern religious studies from the University of Virginia.
Before joining the Bipartisan Policy Center’s health program, Maya Sandalow worked as a social science research analyst at the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. She previously held positions with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Georgetown University Health Justice Alliance. Sandalow began her career as an AmeriCorps fellow at a San Francisco Department of Public Health primary care clinic, where she led food-as-medicine programs. She holds a master of public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College.
Based in Washington, D.C., Brian Sigritz’s responsibilities include tracking and analyzing tax and revenue trends, as well as handling National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) activities related to transportation, public-private partnerships, energy and disaster response issues. He also monitors the fiscal health of the states and edits and produces the State Expenditure Report annually.
Prior to joining NASBO, Sigritz worked as a legislative aide in the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served as the caucus staff representative on the Human Services and Aging Committee. He has also served as the legislative liaison to the mayor of Dayton, Ohio. In addition, Sigritz has authored articles on state fiscal conditions, has been quoted in a number of publications and has appeared on several television programs. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University and a master of public administration degree from George Washington University. He also studied sociology and history while attending Oxford University.
Sean Slone
Senior Policy Analyst
The Council of State Governments
Sean Slone is a senior policy analyst in the Center of Innovation at the national headquarters of The Council of State Governments (CSG) in Lexington, Kentucky. In recent years, he has staffed projects on long-term care, mental health policy and the future of work and directed the organization’s Medicaid policy education programs. Previously, as CSG’s director of transportation & infrastructure policy, he spent a decade (2008-18) staffing the organization’s Transportation & Infrastructure Public Policy Committee, organizing transportation-related convenings in Washington, D.C., and around the country and writing for CSG publications. A journalist by training, his career also has included a decade as a producer for C-SPAN in Washington, D.C. and five years as a producer/reporter for Kentucky Educational Television, where he covered the Kentucky General Assembly.
At NASHP, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization committed to improving the health and well-being of all people across every state, Hemi Tewarson, JD, MPH, leads an organization that is at the forefront of engaging state leaders and bringing together partners to develop and advance state health policy innovations. Previously, she worked at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy as a senior fellow and served as the director of the Health Division at the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices. Tewarson also served as senior attorney for the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Government Accountability Office addressing Medicaid and related health care topics for members of Congress. She holds a juris doctor from George Washington University, a master of public health from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Angela D. Thomas
Vice President for Healthcare Delivery Research
MedStar Health
Angela D. Thomas, DrPH, MPH, MBA, has over 20 years of experience in scientific and administrative leadership in translational and clinical research across both federal and non-federal sponsors. She currently serves as the vice president of Healthcare Delivery Research at the MedStar Health Research Institute, where she provides executive oversight for the MedStar Healthcare Delivery Research Network, the MedStar Women and Children’s Research Network, and the Center for Biostatistics, Informatics, and Data Science. In these centers, Thomas leads a team of experts who apply rigorous scientific methods to enhance healthcare delivery through quality, safety, innovation, health economics, payment reform, outcomes assessment, health services research, data science and health equity. Her team implements and evaluates data-driven solutions that support policies and programs aimed at improving healthcare while integrating scientific insights with the clinical and operational expertise necessary to meet patient and community needs. Thomas also ensures that these research activities leverage the collective leadership and unique strengths of MedStar Health and Georgetown University. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology and Cognitive Sciences and a master of public health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan. She later obtained a master of business administration from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration, as well as a doctor of public health in Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health from the University of South Florida.
Grant Thomas
Senior Advisor
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
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