The Century Foundation (TCF), a leading progressive think tank, today announced the hiring of renowned health care expert Carole Johnson as a Senior Fellow. Johnson most recently served in the Biden administration as Administrator of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), leading a critical federal agency that provides primary care to more than 30 million people in high-need communities regardless of their ability to pay, directs federal maternal and child health services, trains the next generation of health professionals, and supports health services in rural communities. She previously served as the New Jersey Commissioner of Human Services, directing Medicaid, food assistance, child care, social services, aging and disability services.
Johnson is among several new hires the think tank is making to attract top talent leaving the Biden administration to both defend progress and develop new policy solutions and ideas for reform in the areas of health care, education, and the economy. At TCF, she will translate her experience, expertise, and vision into concrete steps toward a more accessible, coordinated, and effective health system.
“Carole’s record of health policy accomplishments is extraordinary, ranging from strengthening the nation’s public health system to expanding the health care workforce to improving maternal, mental health, and substance use disorder services,” said TCF’s Director of Health Care Reform Jeanne Lambrew. “She brings to TCF experience in running a major federal agency and a large state’s health services department, setting critical policies at the White House, and working across the aisle to advance the nation’s health.”
“I am incredibly proud of our work in the Biden administration to make health care more affordable and accessible, including by expanding access to primary care, growing the health care workforce, improving services for moms and babies, and supporting the health care needs of rural communities,” said new TCF Senior Fellow Carole Johnson. “Having led health care agencies at both the state and federal level, I’ve seen firsthand the impact that health care investments in communities across the country have in providing lifesaving, life-changing care—and what can happen to families when those services are at-risk. I’m excited to join the stellar team at TCF and work to build on the progress we’ve made in recent years and ensure every person has access to affordable, high-quality care.”
As HRSA Administrator in the Biden administration, Johnson helped make primary care more readily available, integrated mental health and substance use services into primary care, and grew school-based health services. Johnson also made unprecedented investments in scholarships, loan repayment, and stipends to recruit and train the next generation of physicians, nurses, mental health and substance use disorder treatment providers and other essential health care providers. She secured bipartisan action on several key Administration priorities, including doubling the federal investment in home visiting services to respond to the maternal mortality crisis and the first major reform of the nation’s organ transplant system in 40 years.
Johnson joined HRSA from the White House COVID-19 Response Team, where she led mitigation and surge response efforts. She previously served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, leading the largest state agency in the 11th largest state and providing health care and social services to one-in-five New Jerseyans. During her tenure, she expanded Medicaid coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, created new Medicaid benefits to improve maternal health outcomes, substantially increased child care rates for the first time in a decade, and expanded food assistance benefits. She also served for more than five years in the Obama White House, working on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, combatting the opioid epidemic, responding to public health challenges like Ebola and Zika, coordinating the White House Conference on Aging, and advancing public health priorities.
Johnson is widely seen as one of the nation’s preeminent experts across the range of health care policy. She has worked on health care policy in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and was previously a program officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts and a senior government relations manager with the American Heart Association.
Leading Health Care Expert Carole Johnson Joins TCF as Senior Fellow
The Century Foundation (TCF), a leading progressive think tank, today announced the hiring of renowned health care expert Carole Johnson as a Senior Fellow. Johnson most recently served in the Biden administration as Administrator of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), leading a critical federal agency that provides primary care to more than 30 million people in high-need communities regardless of their ability to pay, directs federal maternal and child health services, trains the next generation of health professionals, and supports health services in rural communities. She previously served as the New Jersey Commissioner of Human Services, directing Medicaid, food assistance, child care, social services, aging and disability services.
Johnson is among several new hires the think tank is making to attract top talent leaving the Biden administration to both defend progress and develop new policy solutions and ideas for reform in the areas of health care, education, and the economy. At TCF, she will translate her experience, expertise, and vision into concrete steps toward a more accessible, coordinated, and effective health system.
“Carole’s record of health policy accomplishments is extraordinary, ranging from strengthening the nation’s public health system to expanding the health care workforce to improving maternal, mental health, and substance use disorder services,” said TCF’s Director of Health Care Reform Jeanne Lambrew. “She brings to TCF experience in running a major federal agency and a large state’s health services department, setting critical policies at the White House, and working across the aisle to advance the nation’s health.”
“I am incredibly proud of our work in the Biden administration to make health care more affordable and accessible, including by expanding access to primary care, growing the health care workforce, improving services for moms and babies, and supporting the health care needs of rural communities,” said new TCF Senior Fellow Carole Johnson. “Having led health care agencies at both the state and federal level, I’ve seen firsthand the impact that health care investments in communities across the country have in providing lifesaving, life-changing care—and what can happen to families when those services are at-risk. I’m excited to join the stellar team at TCF and work to build on the progress we’ve made in recent years and ensure every person has access to affordable, high-quality care.”
As HRSA Administrator in the Biden administration, Johnson helped make primary care more readily available, integrated mental health and substance use services into primary care, and grew school-based health services. Johnson also made unprecedented investments in scholarships, loan repayment, and stipends to recruit and train the next generation of physicians, nurses, mental health and substance use disorder treatment providers and other essential health care providers. She secured bipartisan action on several key Administration priorities, including doubling the federal investment in home visiting services to respond to the maternal mortality crisis and the first major reform of the nation’s organ transplant system in 40 years.
Johnson joined HRSA from the White House COVID-19 Response Team, where she led mitigation and surge response efforts. She previously served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, leading the largest state agency in the 11th largest state and providing health care and social services to one-in-five New Jerseyans. During her tenure, she expanded Medicaid coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, created new Medicaid benefits to improve maternal health outcomes, substantially increased child care rates for the first time in a decade, and expanded food assistance benefits. She also served for more than five years in the Obama White House, working on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, combatting the opioid epidemic, responding to public health challenges like Ebola and Zika, coordinating the White House Conference on Aging, and advancing public health priorities.
Johnson is widely seen as one of the nation’s preeminent experts across the range of health care policy. She has worked on health care policy in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and was previously a program officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts and a senior government relations manager with the American Heart Association.