Health Care Access & Coverage
Forging a Path Toward Integrated Care for Dually Eligible Individuals
Penn LDI Conference
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To get the care they need, people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare have to navigate multiple disjointed systems, often resulting in confusion and frustration as well as delayed or denied care. State and federal policymakers have a renewed commitment to creating a more integrated, patient-centered, cost-efficient system to serve their needs. Join Penn LDI and Health Affairs for a half-day in-person conference to highlight and deepen our understanding of peoples’ experiences, the role of health care providers, and how policymakers are working toward fully integrated care for dually eligible beneficiaries.
Conference Agenda
8:00 a.m.
Breakfast/Registration
9:00 a.m.
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
- Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD
Executive Director of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics - Alan Weil, JD, MPP
Vice President of Health Policy and Editor-in-Chief Health Affairs - Eric Roberts, PhD
Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine
9:15 a.m.
Keynote Address
- Toyin Ajayi, MD, MPhil
Co-Founder and CEO, Cityblock Health
10:15 a.m.
Panel: Perspectives of Dually Eligible Individuals
Dually eligible individuals’ voices should be at the center of policies aimed at increasing health care integration. This panel will surface the experiences of several individuals with lived experience navigating both Medicare and Medicaid and provide recommendations for improvement.
- Aisha Adkins, MPA, CNP
Caregiver, and Training Manager, Caring Across Generations - Sharifa Abu-Hamda
Manager, Independent Living Program, Independence Care System - Dennis Heaphy, MPH, MEd, MDiv
Health Justice Advocate and Researcher, Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium - Dionne L. Stalling
Founder and Executive Director, Rare and Black - Carrie Graham, PhD (moderator)
Director, Aging and Disability Policy, Center for Health Care Strategies
11:15 a.m.
Break
11:30 a.m.
Panel: State Options for Navigating Fully Integrated Care
States are responsible for running Medicaid programs and for implementing programs, policies, and incentives aimed at fully integrating care for dually eligible individuals. Each state faces unique considerations, tight budgets, and competing priorities impacting their ability to implement integrated care plans. This panel will bring together representatives from several states at different points on the journey to fully integrated care to discuss the challenges and opportunities in doing so.
- Matthew Behrens, MPA
Senior Policy Advisor, Complex Care and Duals Integration, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services - Anastasia Dodson, MPA
Deputy Director, Office of Medicare Innovation and Integration, California Department of Health Care Services - Kelli Emans
Senior Strategic Integration Advisor, Home and Community Services Division, Aging and Long-Term Support Administration - Juliet Marsala, MBA
Deputy Secretary, Office of Long-Term Living, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Stacie Weeks, JD, MPH
Medicaid Director and Administrator, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Care Financing and Policy - Melanie Bella, MBA (moderator)
Executive Advisor, Cressey & Company
12:30 p.m.
Conference Ends
Support for this project provided by The SCAN Foundation and Arnold Ventures.
Conference Speakers
Toyin Ajayi, MD, MPhil (Keynote Speaker)
Toyin Ajayi, MD, MPhil is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cityblock Health, a value-based health care provider for Medicaid and dually eligible individuals in underserved communities. Cityblock’s integrated and tech-enabled care model meets individuals where they are, delivering highly personalized medical care, behavioral health care, and social services to members in neighborhoods where it’s needed most. Prior to Cityblock, Dr. Ajayi served as the Chief Medical Officer of Commonwealth Care Alliance, a nationally renowned integrated health plan and care delivery system for individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
Sharifa Abu-Hamda
Sharifa Abu-Hamda is the Manager of the Independent Living Program at Independence Care System (ICS), of which she is a member. She is also the President of the Civics League for Disability Rights (CLDR), a volunteer-led advocacy group for people with disabilities. As the Manager of ICS’ Independent Living Program, Abu-Hamda helped design a program to help ICS members meet their life goals. Working with mentors—who are ICS staff and volunteersICS provides members with the tools they need to set and meet personal goals. A resident of Brooklyn, New York, Abu-Hamda has made a mission of her life to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities on issues ranging from medical coverage to accessible transportation.
Aisha Adkins, MPA, CNP
Aisha Adkins, MPA, CNP is a sought-after international speaker and award-winning leader based in Atlanta, Georgia on Cherokee Nation territory. She is passionate about using her unique lived experiences as someone living with invisible disabilities and a long-time caregiver for both of her parents to affect positive change. Adkins outlines the joys and challenges of mental illness, caregiving, and end-of-life, while offering solutions and calls to action for a future free from stigma against mental illness and dementia with affordable, accessible, and equitable access to comprehensive care for all.
Matthew Behrens, MPA
Matthew Behrens, MPA is the Senior Policy Advisor for Complex Care and Duals Integration for the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. He is responsible for developing and promoting new program initiatives for Virginia’s Medicaid enrollees with complex healthcare needs including dually eligible individuals.
Melanie Bella, MBA
Melanie Bella, MBA is an Executive Advisor at Cressey & Company. She served as Chair of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) until April 2024. Previously, Melanie Bella was EVP of Policy and Duals Strategy for Cityblock Health, a value-based provider focusing on Medicaid and dual eligibles. Before Cityblock, Bella served as the first Director of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and has also served as the Medicaid director for the state of Indiana.
Anastasia Dodson, MPA
Anastasia Dodson, MPA is the Deputy Director of the Office of Medicare Innovation and Integration at the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). She provides focused leadership on Medicare topics in California, particularly on integration strategies for dually eligible individuals.
Kelli Emans
Kelli Emans is the Senior Strategic Integration Advisor for the Home and Community Services Division within the Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA). With almost 20 years of experience in the Medicaid space and a long history of focusing on integration work, she is currently responsible for a broad range of policy development activities related to state-purchased health care strategies, leading duals integration work, and developing policy recommendations for the managed care service delivery—with both Medicare and Medicaid in partnership with our Medicaid Agency.
Carrie Graham, PhD
Carrie Graham, PhD is the Director of Aging and Disability Policy at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). She oversees CHCS’ portfolio of work to improve care delivery for older adults and people with disabilities, including: 1) improving access to high-quality, long-term services and supports, 2) integrating care for dually eligible individuals, and 3) supporting states that are developing Multisector Plans for Aging.
Dennis Heaphy, MPH, MEd, MDiv
Dennis Heaphy, MPH, MEd, MDiv is a Health Justice Advocate and Researcher at the Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium (DPC). Committed to civil and social equity, the DPC’s leadership and staff mirror the populations the organization represents. His previous work experience includes the Americans with Disabilities Act Project Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). His other activities include serving as a Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) Commissioner, a member of the National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs advisory committee, and a board member of Health Law Advocates, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit legal group representing low-income individuals.
Juliet Marsala, MBA
Juliet Marsala, MBA is the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Long-Term Living for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With more than 15 years of experience focused on long-term services and supports (LTSS), she is deeply committed to improving universal access to care and has been leading systems and organizational transformation to provide services more effectively to vulnerable populations in home and community-based services and LTSS. She has worked with states, managed care organizations, hospitals, and community-based organizations to improve publicly-funded health care and LTSS service delivery. Marsala was an active board member of several nonprofit organizations and served on the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Advisory Committee for six years.
Dionne L. Stalling
Dionne L. Stalling is the Founder and Executive Director of Rare and Black. Her life’s work is dedicated to amplifying the voices and experiences of Black individuals navigating the complex landscape of rare diseases. With over a decade of formal advocacy experience and a lifetime of lived experience, she brings an unwavering commitment to inclusivity and justice and is a driving force behind initiatives that strive to ensure equitable health care access for all. As a living testament to her mission, Stalling courageously battles not just one, but nine rare conditions, with grace and determination. Beyond her role with Rare and Black, she is a member of the Camden Coalition’s 2024 Consumer Scholars cohort and serves as a principal at Athari Strategies, a pioneering health equity consulting firm.
