We at CHIR are excited to announce that Dania Palanker, a nationally recognized expert on private insurance and benefit design, joined our team this week. Dania brings with her more than 15 years of health policy experience from her roles at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

While serving as Senior Counsel at the NWLC, Dania dug in deep on private insurance and, in particular, implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She conducted extensive research and authored reports (including this one just out this week) on the ACA’s non-discrimination and preventive services rules, and led more than 70 consumer advocacy groups working on implementation of the Essential Health Benefits provisions. While at SEIU, Dania administered health benefits for low-wage workers, delving into those mainstays of employer-sponsored coverage, ERISA and HIPAA.

Now that she’s on board with us, Dania will be working with the CHIR team on our projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund, as well as other work in which we can tap her extensive experience. We are sure that CHIRblog followers will be benefiting from her research, writing, and health policy smarts before too long. Please join us in welcoming Dania to our team!