Megan Thomas
Megan Thomas
Managing Principal, Medicaid Quality Initiatives
Megan Thomas, MPP serves as Managing Principal for Medicaid Quality Initiatives at Aurrera Health Group. Megan joined the firm in October 2016 and has 15 years of federal and foundation experience in health policy, with a focus on quality of care issues in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). She leverages her expertise in data, quality measurement, and performance improvement to support state delivery system reform efforts, assist in the design and implementation of Medicaid section 1115 waivers, and support state and federal efforts to improve the collection, reporting, analysis, and dissemination of data.
Prior to joining Aurrera Health Group, Megan served as a Technical Director in the Division of Quality & Health Outcomes in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), where she was the team lead for performance measurement. In this capacity, she led the CMCS Medicaid and CHIP portfolio on the child and adult health care quality measures, including issuing technical assistance to states, leading the development of health information systems, and drafting statutory reports on quality efforts. As part of coordinating the use of nationally recognized measures in quality reporting programs, Megan assisted in the development, implementation, and monitoring of state delivery system reform initiatives, including in California, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. She also served as a technical authority for states, congressional staff, and other stakeholders on issues related to implementation of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit and the national Medicaid and CHIP oral health strategy.
Additionally, Megan played an integral role in conducting the first-ever nationwide adult Medicaid Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey at CMS, a multi-year effort designed to collect state and national data on consumers’ experiences with care with the goal of improving health care delivery for Medicaid enrollees. She also worked on the implementation of section 4302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, Addressing Health Care Disparities in Medicaid and CHIP, which seeks to strengthen federal data collection efforts to improve the understanding of health care disparities.
Prior to her time at CMS, Megan spent seven years at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, most recently as a Policy Analyst on the Disparities Policy team. In this role, she conducted policy analysis and research focused on racial, ethnic, income, and gender disparities to help better understand and address health and health care inequities in the United States.
Megan holds master’s degree in public policy with a focus in health policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University. A California native, Megan currently resides in Washington, DC where she enjoys boxing, hiking, traveling, and watching her favorite “so-bad-they’re-good” movies.
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MPP, Health Policy, Georgetown University
BS, Human Biology, Stanford University
