Another big decision happened this week regarding the District’s implementation of federal health reform: last night, the governing board of DC’s Health Benefits Exchange voted unanimously to appoint Mila Kofman as its Executive Director. Kofman’s experience and knowledge in private insurance markets make her well-suited to guide the Exchange through the District’s particular circumstances and challenges, such as having a small population, network adequacy problems, and health disparities. DCFPI is equally impressed with her work as a consumer advocate.
Kofman most recently worked at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, where she assisted other states in implementing national health reform or what’s now known as Obamacare. Before that, she served as Superintendent of Insurance for the state of Maine, overseeing a large state agency that regulates Maine’s entire insurance market. Among her accomplishments, she created a unit specifically for enforcing insurer compliance with market regulations, and she set up improved channels for customer service delivery.
While at Georgetown, she provided guidance to states as they implemented health insurance reforms. This includes helping coalitions of employers to improve their purchasing power ‘ allowing small businesses buy more affordable and quality plans for their employees. At the national level, she has worked on a host of patient protection initiatives and research including implementing health information privacy laws, documenting health insurance scams, and working on the Patient’s Bill of Rights legislation in the early 2000s.
DCFPI looks forward to working with Kofman and her staff on improving the quality and affordability of health insurance offered in the District.