Newswise — As the debate over healthcare reform continues, please remember that faculty members of The George Washington University (GW) Medical Center are available to comment on topics regarding health insurance reform, including: general policy/political analysis, Medicare, Medicaid, compliance, community health centers, state health reform, affordability, finance, health technology information
GW Department of Health Policy Experts
• Sara Rosenbaum, JD Rosenbaum is chair of the GW Department of Health Policy. She can speak about health insurance, health reform, healthcare disparities, health law, public health insurance (SCHIP, Medicare, HIT), and community health centers. She is one of the nation’s 500 most influential health policy makers by McGraw-Hill and was a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Clinton, she directed the drafting of the Health Security Act. Read full bio here.
• Leighton Ku, MPHKu is a professor at the GW Department of Health Policy. He can speak about access/affordability of healthcare and health insurance, immigrant health, Medicaid, national and state health reform, research methods and statistics and finance issues. Read full bio here.
• Jane Thorpe, JD Thorpe is an associate research professor at the GW Department of Health Policy. She can speak about Medicare, Medicaid, legal and policy matters related to health care delivery systems and financing, health information technology and the privacy and security of health information, performance measurement and improvement, medical innovation, fraud and abuse, and corporate compliance. Prior to joining GW in February 2009, Thorpe served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Policy for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services. Read full bio here.
• Brian Biles, MD, MPH Biles is available to speak about Medicare and Medicare Advantage He spent seven years as staff director of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, and helped to guide debate on Medicare and health financing legislation. Later, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration, he led policy development on health reform and public health issues. Dr. Biles also served as Deputy Secretary for Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where he was responsible for state programs in public health, Medicaid, health regulation and more. Read full bio here.
• Fitzhugh Mullan, MDMullan is available to speak about health workforce policy, medical education, the migration of and health workers. Prior to joining the School of Public Health’s faculty in 1996, Dr. Mullan directed the Bureau of Health Professions in the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, earning the rank of Assistant Surgeon General. Read full bio here.
• Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH Siegel is available to speak about the quality of healthcare, health centers, care for minorities. Prior to joining the School's faculty in 2002, Dr. Siegel was chief executive officer of Tampa General Healthcare, West Florida's only regional referral center and a teaching affiliate of the University of South Florida College of Medicine. He has served as president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees the city's vast municipal hospital system, and as the New Jersey Commissioner of Health. Read full bio here.
Complete bios for Experts from GW’s Department of Health Policy
Sara Rosenbaum, JDChair, Department of Health Policy Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and PolicyDirector, Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program, SPHHSAdjunct Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law SchoolAs a scholar, an educator and a national leader, Professor Rosenbaum has dedicated her career to promoting more equitable and effective health care policies in this country, particularly in the areas of Medicaid and Medicare, managed care, employee health benefits, maternal and child health, community health centers and civil rights in health care systems. Her commitment to strengthening access to care for low-income, minority and medically underserved populations has had a transforming effect on the lives of many Americans, particularly children. In addition to her responsibilities as Chair of the Department of Health Policy, which she founded and developed, Professor Rosenbaum is Director of the Center for Health Policy Research, the institutional home for many of the Department's research activities, and Director of the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program. As a mentor, she is drawn to young people interested in improving health care for the poor. "I am always on the lookout for students who have a keen desire not only to learn health policy, but to apply their knowledge to systemic problems that disproportionately affect low-income, medically underserved, or disabled children and adults," she says.
Professor Rosenbaum has been named one of the nation's 500 most influential health policy makers by McGraw Hill. Among other honors, she has received the Investigator Award in Health Policy from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and has been recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services for distinguished national service on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries. As a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Clinton, she directed the drafting of the Health Security Act and oversaw the development of the Vaccines for Children program.
EducationBachelor of Arts, Wesleyan University, 1973Juris Doctor, Boston University School of Law, 1976
ResearchProfessor Rosenbaum's research focuses on the many ways in which the law intersects with the nation's health care and public health systems, with a particular emphasis on civil rights, quality of care, insurance coverage and managed care. She is co-author of Law and the American Health Care System, a widely used health law textbook.
Community ServicePublic officials and health care safety net organizations regularly seek Professor Rosenbaum's expertise. She serves on the board of numerous national organizations, including AcademyHealth, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the Committee on Child Health Research of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in an advisory capacity to the March of Dimes and the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Disabilities, among many others. Professor Rosenbaum is currently advising the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in John B. v Goetz, a class action suit that challenges the adequacy of children's health services in Tennessee.
Leighton Ku, PhD, MPHProfessor
As a health policy researcher, a public policy analyst, and an advocate, Dr. Ku's career has been built around the effort to understand and improve access to affordable health care for vulnerable populations. Among his areas of expertise are Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), immigrant health, state health reform, and health care financing and budgets, with an emphasis on strengthening the health care safety net. "I am interested in applying the lessons of research to policies and programs at the federal and state levels, and working with governmental officials, community groups and advocacy organizations to do it," he says.
Professor Ku joined SPHHS as a full-time faculty member in 2008, but he has held adjunct positions at GW's School of Public Policy and Public Administration since the early 1990s. During that time, he also served as a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which focuses on improving policies for low- and moderate-income Americans; as principal researcher at the Urban Institute; and as a policy and budget analyst for the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program.
EducationBachelor of Arts (Biochemistry), Harvard College, 1975 Master of Science (Nutritional sciences), University of California, Berkeley, 1979Master of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1979Doctor of Philosophy (Health policy), Boston University, 1990
ResearchProfessor Ku is the author, or co-author, of more than 200 articles and reports about health policy and public health focused on health care access and insurance coverage for low-income and vulnerable populations.
Community ServiceDr. Ku has testified before Congress and state legislatures and has submitted expert affidavits in federal and state lawsuits involving Medicaid cost-sharing and immigrant rights. He serves on the National Advisory Board of the Center on Social Disparities on Health at the University of California at San Francisco and on the board of the Alliance for Fairness in Reforms to Medicaid. In 2005, he earned an award from the Mississippi Center for Justice for promoting racial and economic justice.
Jane Thorpe, JDAssociate Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy.Professor Thorpe specializes in legal and policy matters related to health care delivery systems and financing, health information technology and the privacy and security of health information, performance measurement and improvement, medical innovation, fraud and abuse, and corporate compliance. She is currently focusing on legal and policy issues related to improving health care quality and delivery at the community and national level. In addition, she works closely with the District of Columbia's Department of Health Care Finance to develop and implement quality improvement and value-based purchasing initiatives. Continuing from her previous role as a Professorial Lecturer with the Department, Professor Thorpe teaches health care corporate compliance.
Prior to joining the Department in 2009, Professor Thorpe served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Policy for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services. In that capacity, she worked closely with the Director to manage the office responsible for the Agency's crosscutting policy and strategic planning and advise the Administrator on emerging issues in health care delivery and financing. She also was responsible for numerous Agency-wide initiatives related to value-driven health care and transparency, medical technology and innovation, and health information technology.
Professor Thorpe's previous experience includes policy development for the medical device industry, including issues related to product and service coverage, coding, and payment processes. As Associate Vice President for Payment and Policy at the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), she served as a regulatory liaison to CMS and private payers on behalf of the industry. Prior to joining AdvaMed, Professor Thorpe practiced health care law in nationally recognized law firms including Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in Washington, D.C. She represented a broad range of health care industry providers and manufacturers and provided counsel concerning fraud and abuse and regulatory matters.
EducationBachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Princeton University, 1995 Juris Doctor, Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1998
TeachingPubH 291, Health Care Corporate Compliance PSHC 201, Introduction to Health Care Corporate Compliance PSCH 202, Compliance with Specific Laws and Regulations PSCH 203, Case Studies in Health Care Corporate Compliance
ResearchProfessor Thorpe's research focuses on the intersection of health care law and policy in the areas of health care delivery systems and financing with a particular focus on Medicare and Medicaid, health information technology and privacy and security of health information, performance measurement and improvement, and medical innovation. Other areas of focus include fraud and abuse and health care corporate compliance.
Community ServiceProfessor Thorpe serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Community Health Charities of the National Capital Area. She also previously served on the Board of Directors for Physician-Parent Caregivers, Inc., which seeks to improve the quality of health care for children with chronic conditions, and as co-chair of the District of Columbia Bar Health Law Steering Committee. During her tenure with the Health Law Section, she spearheaded the development and publication of the Patient Rights Manual for consumers and practitioners and managed the End-Of-Life Health Care Decision-Making Program.
Brian Biles, MD, MPHProfessor in the Department of Health Policy.
From his first professional job as a legislative assistant to a Kansas Congressman, to his position as Senior Vice President of the Commonwealth Foundation, Professor Biles has been helping to analyze and shape the nation's health care policy for more than three decades. He spent much of that time in government service.
During his seven years as staff director of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, Dr. Biles helped to guide debate on Medicare and health financing legislation. Later, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration, he led policy development on health reform and public health issues. Dr. Biles also served as Deputy Secretary for Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where he was responsible for state programs in public health, Medicaid, health regulation and more. He joined the faculty of the School in 2000.
Among other professional activities, Dr. Biles served as Director of the National Commission on Nursing Workforce for Long-Term Care, which issued its final report on worker retention and recruitment in April 2005. He also chairs the Medical Administrators Conference, and is a member of Delta Omega, a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and an Invited Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
EducationBachelor of Arts (Honors in Political Science), University of Kansas, 1966 - Doctor of Medicine, University of Kansas, 1971- Master of Public Health, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 1980
TeachingPubH 301-Health Policy Seminar, Department of Health Policy, Role of Government in Health Policy, Department of Health Policy, Introduction to Health Services Delivery, Department of Health Services Management and Leadership
ResearchDr. Biles's research focuses on key national health issues, including Medicare, managed care, health care cost-containment and long-term care.
Community ServiceProfessor Biles has served on the Institute of Medicine's Board on Health Care Services and on the New York Academy of Medicine's Committee on Medicine and Society. He has also served as a member of the Governing Council and Action Board of the American Public Health Association; a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Health Services Research; and chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Student Association Foundation.
Fitzhugh Mullan, MDMurdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, a joint position in the GW School of Public Health and Health Services and the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. His primary appointment is in the Department of Health Policy.
From the challenges of meeting the needs of the uninsured in the District of Columbia's inner city, to the titanic struggle against HIV/AIDS in Africa, Professor Mullan's career has focused on community health, workforce issues, including the medical brain drain in Africa, and many other challenges in medical and public health policy. "Health equity at home and abroad is the principle that unifies my work," he says.
A pediatrician whose far-reaching career has included clinical, administrative and editorial responsibilities in both the public and the private sector, Dr. Mullan is also a cancer survivor and the Founding President of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. Cognizant of the importance of communicating with both lay and professional audiences, Dr. Mullan is a contributing editor to Health Affairs and the editor of that journal's "Narrative Matters" section; a prolific book reviewer; and author of a number of general-interest books, including Vital Signs: A Young Doctor's Struggle with Cancer and Big Doctoring in America: Profiles in Primary Care. Prior to joining the School's faculty in 1996, Dr. Mullan directed the Bureau of Health Professions in the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, earning the rank of Assistant Surgeon General.
Dr. Mullan is Director of the Department's Hirsh Program in Medicine and Public Policy, which works to advance understanding of the influence of medicine and medical education on health care and public health.
EducationBachelor of Arts (History), Harvard University, 1964Doctor of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical School, 1968
ResearchDr. Mullan's research bridges U.S. and global issues. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of the Medical Education Futures Study and The Sub-Saharan African Medical School Study.
Community ServiceProfessor Mullan is an attending physician at Children's National Medical Center and a staff pediatrician at the Upper Cardozo Community Health Center, both in Washington. He is vice-chair of the Board of Trustees at the National Museum of Health and Medicine Foundation and a member of the Institute of Medicine.
Bruce Siegel, MD, MPHBruce Siegel is a Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy. He is also on the faculty of the Department of Health Services Management and Leadership.
As project director of two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national programs, both housed at the Department of Health Policy's Center for Health Policy Research, Professor Siegel is helping to guide innovation and to create replicable new initiatives. Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care was developed to improve the quality of health care for minority Americans while Urgent Matters helps hospitals eliminate crowding in emergency departments.Prior to joining the School's faculty in 2002, Dr. Siegel was chief executive officer of Tampa General Healthcare, West Florida's only regional referral center and a teaching affiliate of the University of South Florida College of Medicine. He has served as president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees the city's vast municipal hospital system, and as the New Jersey Commissioner of Health. Dr. Siegel was a director of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and served as an advisor to the World Bank, where he helped Sierra Leone establish its first health plan. Born to a Haitian mother, he is fluent in Creole.
EducationA.B., Princeton University, 1978 - Doctor of Medicine, Cornell University Medical College, 1982- Master of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1989
TeachingPubH 282.20-Applications of Health Policy Analysis: Medically Underserved Populations, Department of Health Policy
ResearchIn addition to his leadership on the Robert Wood Johnson initiatives, Dr. Siegel has been involved in research focused on the quality of health care, especially for underserved populations; health care disparities; the health care safety net; and issues related to hospital financing and patient flow.
Community ServiceProfessor Siegel writes and speaks extensively about health care administration, health care policy and public health, and has been a consultant to hospitals and hospital associations, and to several national philanthropies. He is a member of the Board of Stewardship Trustees of Catholic Health Initiatives.
RSS