Friday, May 07, 2021
Heidi L. Allen, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the Columbia School of Social Work and an advisory board member for the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH), was appointed to the U.S. federal government’s Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) on May 3, 2021.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 established MACPAC to review Medicaid and CHIP access and payment policies and to advise Congress on issues affecting Medicaid and CHIP. The Act directs the Comptroller General to appoint MACPAC’s members.
“Policymakers rely on MACPAC’s thoughtful suggestions concerning Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP),” said Gene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), who appointed Dr. Allen.
“We are excited and proud to have Dr. Allen as an advisor and resource in achieving the Center’s mission to reduce health inequities by focusing on access and affordability of health services for children and families with complex health needs,” said Ellie Zambrano, CISWH executive director.
Dr. Allen studies the impact of social policies on health and financial well-being. She is a former emergency department social worker and spent several years in state health policy, examining health system redesign and public health insurance expansions. In 2014 and 2015, she was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in Health and Aging Policy. Dr. Allen is also a standing member of the National Institutes of Health’s Health and Healthcare Disparities study section. She joins the MACPAC along with other newly appointed members Robert Duncan, Laura Herrera Scott, and Verlon Johnson.