Basics of Medicaid and Reconciliation: Community Living and Policy

Alison Barkoff

Alison Barkoff is the Harold and Jane Hirsh Associate Professor of Health Law and Policy and Hirsh Program Director at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Prior to joining GW, she led the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from January 2021 to October 2024, where she served as the advisor to the HHS Secretary on aging and disability policy, oversaw national disability and aging programs, and led cross-agency initiatives related to long-term services and supports (LTSS), civil rights, housing, direct care workforce, family caregiving, healthy aging and public health.

Jennifer Lav

Jennifer Lav is the Director of the Disability Practice Area at the National Health Law Program’s D.C. office. She and her team work to advance health policies that center the rights of people with disabilities to access high-quality, community-integrated health care, free from discrimination. Jennifer’s areas of expertise include Medicaid, home and community-based services, and community-based mental health services, for both youth and adults. Before joining the National Health Law Program, Jennifer was a staff attorney and then a managing attorney at Disability Rights D.C. at University Legal Services (DRDC), the Protection & Advocacy Program for the District of Columbia. While at DRDC, she supervised the agency’s mental health advocacy, focusing on increasing access to community-based services for youth and adults, investigating abuse and neglect in facilities, and protecting and expanding autonomy and choice for District residents with disabilities.

Shoshana Marin

Shoshana Marin is the Public Policy Fellow and assists the Policy Team in advocating for and implementing AUCD’s policy priorities at the federal level. Shoshana has a degree in Media and Communications from Muhlenberg College, minoring in Spanish. She previously served as Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) where she led communications strategy for Senator Casey’s portfolio as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Shoshana previously worked as a Field Organizer in Northampton County, Pennsylvania supporting PA Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections and in Philadelphia, where she coordinated volunteer activities to support local direct service organizations.