New Director of Policy and Legislation Leads with a Data-Driven Vision
Welcome Alexandra Koloskus to MGA! Alex is our new Director of Policy and Legislation and she has the background and vision to truly affect change in home health.
Alex comes to us from working for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing – where policy is created. Now, after six years of working there, she is embracing the opportunity to work closer with the people that policy actually affects.
“I wanted to work closer to the clients—actual recipients of the policy I helped develop,” Alex says of her change from working for the state to working for MGA. “I have that knowledge of how programs were developed and understand how they affect the state. Now, I will have the opportunity to help more people in more states and locations.”
This “boots on the ground” philosophy will guide Alex as she works with the recipients of the actual services and the provision of care. Because she has the knowledge of how programs were developed, her hope and goal is to find ways of how they can be improved by seeing that policy in action.
Alex is from Denver and attended CU Boulder. Upon graduation, she attended law school in California and honed her focus in healthcare law. She became interested in hospice and home health when she worked at, and eventually helped run, the health clinic at her law school. Upon graduating, she took the California Bar exam and passed. She had “back home” on her mind as she moved to Colorado and took and passed the Bar Exam there.
Alex started working for Medicaid in Colorado where she thought that would be the fastest way to affect change in home health, personal care, private duty medical equipment and hospice. “I worked on developing my philosophy to run clean programs and create comprehensive policy,” she says.
Alex is excited to advise on MGA’s opportunities to influence change and legislation in a number of states. Part of that is working on expanding MGA’s CNA Academy where parents and relatives of medically fragile children can study to become licensed care givers (CNAs) in order to care for patients full time and get a salary for that work. MGA wants to expand this model.
“It’s about demonstrating quality and cost-effective care to state Medicare,” says Alex. “There’s a sweet spot where states can view parents and relative care givers as a safe and viable way to provide care.” Alex explains that we are moving in that direction, but it is a challenge. And it’s a challenge she is ready for.
When not working on affecting positive change for thousands of medically fragile children, she is an avid rock climber and dog mom to her Great Dane puppy– an entire hobby and undertaking all on its own. Welcome to MGA Alex!