Vikki Wachino Acting Director MediCaid Gender Female Ms. Wachino serves as the Acting Director for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As Acting Director of CMCS, Vikki leads activities related to national Medicaid and CHIP policy and program operations, and works closely with states in the implementation of their Medicaid and CHIP programs. In her past CMS career, Vikki was responsible for implementing major provisions of the Affordable Care Act as Director of the Children and Adults Health Programs Group, and served in that role at a historic moment in the development of eligibility and enrollment policy for the low-income population. In that capacity, Vikki played a key role in implementation of the Medicaid expansion of coverage to low-income adults. She also oversaw the CHIP program, efforts to improve the quality of care for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, and worked closely with states on progress toward key goals such as delivery system reform through section 1115 demonstration waivers. Vikki is a nationally-recognized expert on health policy, particularly as it pertains to health coverage for the low-income population. She has served as a senior fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago, where she lead the organization’s work on delivery system reform and Medicaid managed care. Vikki has also served as Health Policy Director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Associate Director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and as an independent consultant. Vikki previously served in government at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Vikki is the author of many publications on Medicaid and CHIP coverage and financing. Vikki holds an M.P.P. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College. Read More
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