Jason Helgerson – NY Medicaid
Jason Helgerson became New York’s Medicaid Director on January 5, 2011. New York’s Medicaid program provides vital health care services to over 5.3 million New Yorkers and has an annual budget in excess of $54 billion. Jason also serves as the Executive Director for New York’s Medicaid Redesign Team. In this capacity he leads Governor Cuomo’s effort to fundamentally reshape the state’s Medicaid program in order to both lower costs and improve health care quality.
Prior to arriving in New York, Jason was Wisconsin’s Medicaid Director. In that capacity, he administered the state’s nationally recognized BadgerCare Plus program for children and families (Wisconsin’s Medicaid, and SCHIP); BadgerCare Plus Core Plan; SeniorCare (Pharmacy Plus Waiver); FoodShare (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); and Wisconsin’s Chronic Disease Program.
Jason was also the principle project sponsor for BadgerCare Plus, former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s signature health care initiative. Through this program, 98% of Wisconsin residents have access to affordable health care, including all children.
Jason served as Executive Assistant/Policy Director to the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) from February 2005 to March 2007. Prior to joining DHFS, Jason served as the Executive Assistant for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
Prior to joining the Doyle Administration, Jason served as the Senior Education Policy Advisor for Mayor Ron Gonzales of the City of San Jose, CA. In this role, he provided advice and counsel to the Mayor on all issues related to children. Before joining Mayor Gonzales’ staff, Jason worked for the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) where he served as both the chief lobbyist for the district and as a deputy budget director. Prior to taking the position with MPS, Jason worked for Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist where he was the Education Policy Advisor and served as a senior official in the Mayor’s Budget Office.
Jason received his Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Chicago in 1995, and his B.A. in Political Science from American University in Washington, DC in 1993.
Jason is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the State University of New York at
Albany, School of Public Health.