Ellen Lukens, M.P.H., is the deputy director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center), within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In this role, she leads policy development at the CMS Innovation Center. She has deep experience both within and outside the government tackling complex health policy issues.
Prior to this role, Ms. Lukens served as the group director of the Policy and Programs Group within the CMS Innovation Center, where she led the team that provides cross-cutting support for Center-wide policy and portfolio management. She also served as the division director for ambulatory payment models, where she led development of physician-focused specialty care models, including the Oncology Care Model.
Prior to joining CMS, Ms. Lukens led the Provider Practice at Avalere Health. In that role, she worked with hospitals, physician groups, and post-acute care providers on many policy and strategy issues, including developing analytic tools to improve provider performance and to evaluate participation in CMS Innovation Center models. Prior to Avalere, she held policy roles in hospital associations.
Ms. Lukens began her health policy career as a presidential management fellow at CMS. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan.