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Joseph
Baker tapped as Medicare Rights Center’s new
President
Veteran Health Care Advocate returns to head
nonprofit he served earlier
New York
(NY)—Joseph Baker, a senior health policy
advisor in the administrations of Governors
David Paterson and Eliot Spitzer, has been
hired as president of the Medicare Rights
Center, effective June 15.
The Medicare Rights Center is a national
nonprofit consumer organization that works
to ensure access to affordable health care
for older adults and people with
disabilities through counseling, educational
programs and public policy initiatives.
Baker currently serves as deputy secretary
for health and human services in the
Paterson administration, where he was
instrumental in developing Medicaid reforms
in this year’s budget and in developing a
proposal to extend coverage to younger New
Yorkers.
Baker served as assistant deputy secretary
for health and human services in the Spitzer
administration after directing the Health
Care Bureau for Spitzer when he was attorney
general.
Baker served as executive vice president of
the Medicare Rights Center from 1994 to
2001, and previously as associate director
of legal services for Gay Men’s Health
Crisis.
He is a graduate of the University of
Virginia School of Law.
“We are thrilled to have Joe Baker take the
helm of the Medicare Rights Center at a time
when fundamental reforms to our health care
system are on the national agenda,” said
Medicare Rights Center Board Chairman Bruce
Vladeck, former administrator of the
Medicare and Medicaid programs in the
Clinton Administration.
“Joe brings a wealth of health policy
experience to the job, as well as a proven
commitment to advocacy on behalf of older
adults and people with disabilities.”
“By using the lessons from its direct
service work to inform its policy advocacy,
the Medicare Rights Center brings a unique
and valuable perspective to the health
reform debate,” Baker said.
“I am glad to have the opportunity to rejoin
the Medicare Rights Center. This is a
challenging but also an exciting time to be
an advocate for affordable health care.”
Baker replaces Robert M. Hayes, who stepped
down in February after seven years as
president and general counsel.
During that time, the Medicare Rights Center
grew to have a 50-person staff providing
counseling and educational services to
people with Medicare, and opened offices in
Washington, D.C., and Baltimore to more
effectively advocate for policy reforms.
2009 marks the 20th anniversary
of the Medicare Rights Center. It was
founded in 1989 by Diane Archer.
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