Minneapolis, MN
Pamela has over 40 years of state and county government experience in Minnesota with specialized expertise in health care policy, operations, financing and rate setting, long term services and supports, health plan contracting and integration of services for seniors and people with disabilities including people with dual eligibility for both Medicare and Medicaid. During her long career as a manager at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) she was responsible for creation of the nation’s first federally approved state demonstration to integrate Medicare and Medicaid services for people with dual eligibility in 1995, Minnesota Senior Health Options, as well as for related specialized integrated Medicare and Medicaid and LTSS programs for seniors and people with disabilities. MSHO has been touted as a national model by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for building integrated programs across the country. Pam also served as Director of Long-Term-Care for DHS and has a long history of consumer advocacy as founder of an advocacy program for nursing home residents and serving as the state’s first Long Term care Ombudsman. Pam has been an advisor to many national organizations including MedPAC, MACPAC and AARP and has been a frequent speaker at national conferences on topics related to LTSS and integration. Since retiring from her state management position in 2014, Pam has been an independent consultant advocating for simplification of access to services for people with dual eligibility, primarily for the Washington based Special Needs Plan Alliance. Pam has a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government where she was a Bush Leadership Fellowship Recipient.
Pam was awarded the Governor’s Public Service Award for Excellence by Governor Rudy Perpich) in 1987 and was the recipient of the Dutch Kastenbaum Outstanding Gerontologist of the Year award from the Minnesota Gerontological Society in 1999. In 2016 Pamela was awarded the Women in Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hamline Center for Public Administration, and in 2020 the SNP Alliance presented her with the Bringewatt Spirit of Humanity Award.
