Judy Solomon: A Champion of Change for Health Reform

The White House has honored Judy Solomon, a vice president for health at the Center, as a “Champion of Change” for her work in advancing health reform.  Through their Beyond the Basics project, Solomon and the Center’s health team provide training and resources to support navigators, advocates, state and local officials, and others who help consumers get and keep their health coverage.

Beyond the Basics started as a single webinar in 2013, after the Center received many questions about how health coverage and premium tax credits would work under health reform.  An overwhelming response led the Center’s health team to repeat the webinar a second time, and then to launch an ongoing series, as well as support and materials for enrollment assisters and the volunteer tax preparation community dealing with health reform’s tax provisions. 

The Center’s relationships with assisters has taught staff about policy issues and the barriers families face, and as a result, we’ve developed and recommended workable solutions to the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies.  There’s still work to do, as the remaining uninsured still need to enroll in coverage, and others need support as they transition among coverage types.  We’ll continue to support enrollment assisters in that important work.