Ann Hwang (Community Catalyst)
Ann Hwang, MD is Director of the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation. The Center is a hub devoted to teaching, learning and sharing knowledge to bring the consumer experience to the forefront of health. The Center works directly with consumer advocates to increase the skills and power they have to establish an effective voice at all levels of the health care system. It collaborates with innovative health plans, hospitals and providers to incorporate the consumer experience into the design of their systems of care. It works with state and federal policymakers to spur change that makes the health system more responsive to the needs of consumers, with an emphasis on the care of vulnerable populations.
Dr. Hwang has been a visiting Fellow at the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School where she teaches and contributes to research on health care policy. As the former Director of Health Care Policy and Strategy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Dr. Hwang played a leading role in the implementation of the state’s major health care initiatives, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), payment and delivery system reform and the Commonwealth’s State Innovation Model grant. She has also served as a Senior Health Policy Advisor to the Massachusetts Health Connector, advised states on ACA implementation as a Senior Consultant with the Wakely Consulting Group and worked on HIV and global health issues as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL).
Dr. Hwang received her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and has worked as an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the VA Boston Healthcare System. In addition to leading the Center, she is a primary care physician with Commonwealth Care Alliance.