Lauren Testa M.P.H.
Senior Vice President
Lauren Testa has experience working with a diverse range of clients – including, investors and lenders, federal and local government, not-for-profits, health systems, and research institutions – to implement, assess, and advance federal policy and local health care programs.
Most recently, Lauren was an Assistant Vice President at Farragut Square Group, providing strategic health care policy research, advisory diligence, and long-term outlook on federal and state health care matters to investors and financial institutions. In this role, she regularly analyzed reimbursement, regulatory, and legislative risk for a wide variety of Medicare and Medicaid providers, including physicians, laboratories, ambulatory surgical centers, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, and hospice providers. Lauren was also responsible for harnessing new data analytics capabilities to create data-driven diligence products for Farragut’s clients.
Lauren also has federal health care policy consulting experience with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), primarily working with the agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). On behalf of CMMI, Lauren worked to implement and monitor innovative health care delivery and payment systems including those supported by the Health Care Innovation Awards and the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative. Through her work she developed a deep understanding of the implementation challenges providers face, and identified opportunities for shared learning among CMMI demonstration projects.
Earlier in her career, Lauren independently consulted for the Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Medical Center, and Health Resources in Action, where she focused on local public health issues. Lauren was also a Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). At the NIH, she used fMRI imaging, genetics, and behavioral data to better understand the neurological underpinnings of schizophrenia and help identify potential drug targets.
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Boston University. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Luke and their cat Scarlett.
A Suite Of Potential Executive Actions For A Post-Roe World
On May 2, 2022, news outlet Politico published a draft of the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The central argument of the case rests on the constitutionality of abortion, creating an opportunity to reassess the landmark 1973 Roe v….
To Extend or Not Extend? Biden Administration Prepares States for Decision on PHE
The current COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declaration ends on July 15. Notification of the PHE’s end is anticipated by Monday, May 16, given the Biden administration’s promise to provide states with a 60-day warning to support a smooth post-PHE transition. There has been some discussion about continuing the PHE another 90 days given the…
Office of Minority Health Announces Funding Opportunity to Test Disparity-Reducing Interventions in Public Health Programs
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced a funding opportunity (MP-CPI-20-001) titled, “State/Tribal/Territorial Partnership Initiative to Document and Sustain Disparity-Reducing Interventions.” This initiative is intended to help build the capacity of state, tribal, and territorial governmental…
Ready or Not, ONC and CMS Final Data Blocking, Interoperability, and Patient Access Rules Will Enable Patients to Share Their Data More Freely
Last week, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released highly anticipated final rules (here and here,respectively) that together lay out new standards for health care information sharing. The rules seek to implement policies that restrict data blocking, increase interoperability, and improve patient access as required…
Ten Years Later: The ACA Now (Part II)
Note: This is the second in a three-part blog series highlighting the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (see part I of the series here). We invite you to visit ACA Now, the most comprehensive and user-friendly online resource summarizing key developments for every provision of the law over the past decade….
WHG’s Top 5 Telehealth Bills to Watch
Last week, we shared with our clients a legislative side-by-side (SBS) of our top five telehealth bills to watch for the remainder of the 116th Congress. Of the bills identified, we suggested that the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act of 2019 – introduced by Democratic sponsors in both the House and Senate –…
Health Care Highlights of the FY 2021 White House Budget Request
For access to our complete summary of the 2021 budget request, please contact Lauren Testa at lauren@wynnehealth.com On February 10, 2020, the White House released its fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request, “A Budget for America’s Future.” The proposed budget seeks $4.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, including $1.6 trillion in…