Health policy seems extremely complicated. Of course, health policy is also extremely important. Policymakers need to be able to craft a policy agenda that helps Americans and addresses problems with government programs, while clearly communicating the benefits of such policies. These briefing documents can be used to help policymakers and those who seek to be policymakers craft a winning agenda that would improve health policy in the United States and that can be clearly communicated to the American people.
Brian Blase, Ph.D., is the President of Paragon Health Institute. Brian was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) from 2017-2019, where he coordinated the development and execution of numerous health policies and advised the President, NEC director, and senior officials. After leaving the White House, Brian founded Blase Policy Strategies and serves as its CEO.
Joel M. Zinberg, M.D., J.D. is the Director of the Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative at Paragon Health Institute, and a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. A native New Yorker, he recently completed two years as General Counsel and Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President.
A nationally recognized health services expert and government reformer, Gary D. Alexander is head of the Medicaid and Health Safety Net Initiative at the Paragon Health Institute.
Demetrios L. Kouzoukas is the Director of Paragon Health Institute’s Medicare Initiative. From 2017 to 2021, Kouzoukas served as the Chief Executive of the Medicare program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Theo Merkel is the Director of the Private Health Reform Initiative and a Senior Research Fellow for the Paragon Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Joe Albanese is a Senior Policy Analyst with Paragon Health Institute. He comes to Paragon with over six years of federal and nonprofit public policy experience.
Drew Keyes is a former Senior Policy Analyst at the Paragon Health Institute. Drew brings nearly a decade of experience as a Congressional staffer, where he worked to advance conservative, free-market principles.