Jennifer Kent, MPA
Director, California Department of Health Care Services (fmr)
The Kent Group
Jennifer Kent is CEO of The Kent Group, and a Partner at The Messina Group. She has more than two decades of extensive health administration and policy experience that encompasses both private and public delivery systems. As Director of the California Department of Health Care Services, she oversaw the second largest public healthcare system in the nation with an annual budget of over $100B and serving approximately 13 million Californians. She oversaw the administration of 24 managed care plans and 56 county behavioral health plans, and acted as a consigliere to lawmakers at the highest levels and a bridge to the private sector. She also held various leadership roles in the state’s Health & Human Services Agency and Governor’s Office.
Her notable accomplishments include:
- Serving as the Governor’s lead policy and strategic advisor on California’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including the creation of the state health exchange legislation (Covered California) and other federal health reform measures;
- Leading the development and negotiation with the federal government to adopt early provisions of the Affordable Care Act through a Section 1115 Waiver and secure $10 billion in new federal funding;
- Successfully developing and renegotiating the 1115 waiver in 2015 with CMS that authorized California-focused program modifications such as a global payment program, safety-net redesign initiatives as well as obtaining $7 billion in new federal funding and creating a new national model for substance use disorder;
- Implementing several integration initiatives such as Whole Person Care and Whole Child Model, delivering enhanced primary care services using innovative and cost-effective mechanisms; and
- Negotiating three multi-billion-dollar managed care tax proposals over her career with support from industry, elected officials and the federal government.
Who We Are
We are problem solvers
We embrace new ideas and develop creative solutions every day to achieve our mission.
We take ownership
We believe in holding ourselves and one another accountable.
We’re always going
We value people who have a strong bias for taking action.
We lead with empathy
We are empathetic to one another. We actively work to understand one another’s point of view.
Who We Are
We are problem solvers
We embrace new ideas and develop creative solutions every day to achieve our mission.
Who We Are
We take ownership
We believe in holding ourselves and one another accountable.
Who We Are
We’re always going
We value people who have a strong bias for taking action.
We lead with empathy
We are empathetic to one another. We actively work to understand one another’s point of view.
Who We Are
We are problem solvers
We embrace new ideas and develop creative solutions every day to achieve our mission.
We take ownership
We believe in holding ourselves and one another accountable.
We’re always going
We value people who have a strong bias for taking action.
We lead with empathy
We are empathetic to one another. We actively work to understand one another’s point of view.
Who We Are
We are problem solvers
We embrace new ideas and develop creative solutions every day to achieve our mission.
Who We Are
We take ownership
We believe in holding ourselves and one another accountable.
We’re always going
We value people who have a strong bias for taking action.
We lead with empathy
We are empathetic to one another. We actively work to understand one another’s point of view.
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