Moderator:
Kate Meyers, MPP
Senior Program Officer
California Health Care Foundation
Kate Meyers is a senior program officer with the California Health Care Foundation’s People-Centered Care team, which works to ensure that Californians — particularly those enrolled in Medi-Cal — receive responsive, comprehensive, and coordinated care that supports their health and well-being. Her work focuses on care for people with complex needs, including older adults and people with serious illnesses. Before joining the foundation in 2017, Kate worked for eight years as an independent consultant managing initiatives to expand access to community-based palliative care in California and to spread the lessons learned by pioneering organizations involved in this work.
Panel:
Brynn Bowman, MPA
Chief Executive Officer
Center to Advance Palliative Care
Brynn Bowman, MPA, is chief executive officer for the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), which provides tools, training, and technical assistance to more than 1,850 health care organizations to improve the quality of care for patients with serious illness. She is an assistant professor in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness, and a former Health and Aging Policy Fellow where she served with the US Senate Committee on Finance in 2020-2021. Ms. Bowman graduated from Harvard College with an AB in biological studies and received her MPA from New York University.
Wendy Fox-Grage, MS, MPA
Senior Policy Analyst
National Academy for State Health Policy
Wendy Fox-Grage is a senior policy fellow on the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) Aging and Disability team working on long-term services and supports, family caregiving, and palliative care. She joined NASHP in September 2019. Previously, she worked as a senior strategic policy advisor for the AARP Public Policy Institute for 15 years and as a program principal for the National Conference of State Legislatures for nearly 10 years. She started her career as a Congressional Fellow for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. She has a BS in human development and social policy from Northwestern University and master’s degrees in both gerontology and public administration from the University of Southern California.
Kate Ross
Director of State Programs
California Association of Health Plans
Kate Ross recently joined the California Association of Health Plans (CAHP), bringing years of public and private health insurance experience to the team. As the director of state programs, Kate spearheads CAHP’s engagement on Medi-Cal, state and federal proposals, and policies that impact public programs and health plan operations. She works with the California Department of Health Care Services and other key agencies and stakeholders to advocate for policies and regulations that continue to build a better and more just Medi-Cal program. As Sacramento native, Kate strives to be a better King’s fan but is always happy to discuss book recommendations.