A Major Force for Medicare, Medicaid, and Health Systems Innovations Joins Capital Caring Health

A Major Force for Medicare, Medicaid, and Health Systems Innovations Joins Capital Caring Health as Chief of Strategy, Policy, & Legal Affairs

Falls Church, VA –   Jan. 6 —    Capital Caring Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Bacher as Chief of Strategy, Policy, & Legal Affairs.  Gary most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation where he was responsible for directing the development of new models and initiatives to improve and refine value-based care.  In his new role at CCH, Gary will direct all efforts to determine how best to improve all aspects of advanced illness and hospice care at a very critical juncture in the aging of America as over 100 million Baby Boomers enter their 7^th, 8^th and 9^th decades.  Coping with this mass aging and ensuring the highest quality care for all in their later years is a challenge Gary is uniquely qualified to take on.

For more than a decade, Gary has led efforts in health care improvement, operating at the intersection of public policy, law, regulatory affairs and business development.  His expertise has been essential for the continuous improvement of systems of care including Medicare and Medicaid and other aspects of health care and health care reform.  Gary is widely recognized as a national expert on a broad range of health plans, encompassing providers, employers, state-based exchanges and government organizations.  He has also served as a policy and legal advisor on issues including fraud and abuse, antitrust, HIPAA, government payment systems, and FDA rules and regulations.

Prior to entering government service, Gary co-founded Healthsperien, a DC-based health consultancy, led health policy development as Senior Vice President for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and served in legal, business development, and public policy roles at UnitedHealth Group.  Gary also served on active military duty from 1996-2000, as Assistant to the Army General Counsel and during that period assisted at the White House Counsel’s Office.  Gary holds a JD from Stanford Law School, an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and a BA from Georgetown University.

Asked about Gary’s focus at Capital Caring Health, CEO Tom Koutsoumpas remarked,” We are thrilled to have Gary helping us and the entire advanced illness care community of 70 non-profits across the nation reimagine and redefine, in close cooperation with state and federal entities, how better outcomes for those seriously ill can be achieved through innovation and policies that support new approaches to comprehensive and compassionate care.”

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About Capital Caring Health

Capital Caring Health is one of the leading nonprofit providers of elder health, hospice, and advanced illness care for persons of all ages in the mid-Atlantic region.  A member of a national network of 70 nonprofit hospice providers, our mission is to provide patients and their families with advanced illness care that is second to none.  We also have special hospice teams serving children and veterans.  On an annual basis we serve over 7,000 hospice patients and provide more than $3 million in charity care to those who are uninsured and have nowhere else to turn.  Almost 90 cents out of every dollar goes to caring for patients and their families. Our website, www.capitalcaring.org, is available in English, Spanish, and Korean plus offers 24/7 Live Chat.  Since the beginning of hospice care over 40 years ago, we have served 120,000 patients and their families in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

24-Hour Care Line:  (800) 869-2136
www.capitalcaring.org

Contact: Nancy Cook, VP Marketing & Communications, Capital Caring Health
(703) 531-6241