Jeff Lemieux is the Senior Vice President directing AHIP's new Center for Policy and Research. Prior to joining AHIP, Lemieux was Executive Director of Centrists.Org, a small think tank dedicated to pursuing bipartisan policy solutions. Before founding Centrists.Org in 2003, Lemieux worked as a senior economist for the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). At PPI, he was responsible for studies of overall economy including federal budget, tax, and entitlement issues, as well as health care. In 1998 and 1999, Lemieux served as the staff economist for the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, which was co-chaired by Senator John Breaux and Congressman Bill Thomas. Before joining the Commission, from 1992 to 1998, Lemieux was with the Congressional Budget Office, where he estimated the cost of national health reform plans and, later, the impact of Medicare reforms enacted in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and other laws.

Ellen Bayer is the Director of Special Projects in AHIP's Center for Policy & Research. Currently she is working on projects related to disease management, Medicaid, cost trends, and consumer choice products. Prior to joining AHIP, she worked as an analyst for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Her work for ASPE focused primarily on privacy, heath plan accreditation, and tax credit issues. She has also worked as a policy analyst for Project HOPE's Center for Health Affairs and as a legislative assistant in the office of Congressman John LaFalce (D-NY). She received a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

Teresa Chovan is Executive Director of Research at the AHIP Center for Policy and Research. Her responsibilities include survey development and data analysis on topics of interest to members, legislators and policymakers. Before joining AHIP, Ms. Chovan was a State Health Policy Analyst at the National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc., Washington, DC where she focused on health policy issues as they relate to community health centers and low- income populations. She has also worked as a Medicaid Policy Analyst at the District of Columbia, Department of Human Services, and as a state health policy analyst at The Intergovernmental Health Policy Project, The George Washington University. She received a B.A. in Economics from Youngstown State University, and a Master in Health Care Administration from The George Washington University.

Scott Keefer serves as Vice President of Policy Development for the Center for Policy and Research at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). His mission is to help policymakers and AHIP members develop innovative, market-based proposals to improve and expand health insurance coverage.

Before joining AHIP, Scott was legislative director for Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. from 2001 to 2005. In that position, he served as principal policy adviser, supervised the legislative staff, and had primary responsibility for health care, budget and tax, and trade and foreign affairs. Before returning to Capital Hill, Scott was a legislative counsel for the Harold Ford Group where he represented clients on health care and financial services. Scott has also worked in the Office of U.S. District Judge Robert Cindrich, the Environmental Protection Agency, and at a law firm where he helped represent clients on health and environmental claims. Additionally, Scott served as a legislative assistant to former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., where he was responsible for issues considered by the House Ways and Means Committee. Scott earned a Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science from Washington and Jefferson College.

Hannah Yoo is a Senior Policy Analyst at the AHIP Center for Policy and Research. Hannah provides quantitative and qualitative research for the Center on topics such as Health Savings Accounts, Cost Trends, and the Individual and Small-Group Market. She received a B.A. in Media Studies, Political Science and International Relations from Scripps College in Claremont, California in 2004.

Karen Heath is a Policy Analyst at the AHIP Center for Policy and Research. Karen supports the Center by gathering qualitative information about member programs and assisting in the design, data collection and analysis of member surveys. She received a M.S. from the University of Virginia and a B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, both in Mathematics. Before joining the Center, Ms. Heath was a health care consultant focusing on Medicaid program design and fiscal analysis with EP&P Consulting.

Christelle Jang is a Policy Analyst at the AHIP Center for Policy and Research. Her work focuses on conducting quantitative and qualitative research on topics such as disease management and Medicare Advantage. She also assists in the design and data analysis of member surveys. Ms. Jang received a B.S. in Public and Community Health from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2006.

Kelly Buck is a Policy Analyst with the Center. Her work focuses on grassroots efforts, customer services, and claims denials, as well as health information technology and quality issues. Kelly earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Public Administration and Political Science from Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA. Before joining AHIP, Kelly was the Associate Director of Policy and Government Affairs at The National Alliance for Health Information Technology where she monitored legislative and regulatory activities, conducted research and educated policy-makers on behalf of Alliance member companies which spanned the healthcare sector. Prior to working at the Alliance, she was the General Manager and Interim Executive Director of Centrists.Org, a small nonpartisan think tank and communications center for bipartisan policy-making.