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Julian Harris, MD, MBA, MSc, a primary care physician at the Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center, was appointed last week to serve as director of the Office of Medicaid, a state program that provides health insurance for more than a million children, families, seniors and people with disabilities in Massachusetts.
“I am humbled and honored that Governor Patrick and Secretary Bigby have selected me to serve the people of the Commonwealth at this pivotal moment in the program’s history,” said Harris, who is also a clinical fellow on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and a senior resident in Internal Medicine at BWH. “As a physician, I have seen first-hand the transformational effects of access to coverage on patient outcomes.”
A Rhode Scholar, Harris formerly served at the World Bank, where he was charged with day-to-day management of the World Bank Institute’s AIDS program. He also worked on national health payment and delivery system reform for an international client at McKinsey & Company. Currently, he serves on the Health Reform Task Force of the Massachusetts Medical Society and the Quality & Safety Committee of the Board of Registration in Medicine.
In his new role, Harris will work to ensure that the MassHealth program provides members with access to more integrated models of care that improve quality and outcomes for patients while helping to bend the health care cost curve in the Commonwealth.
“We are delighted for Dr. Julian Harris that Governor Patrick has asked him to serve as director of the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program,” said BWH President Betsy Nabel, MD. “He brings to this role a rich background in health policy, business leadership and clinical care as a physician. He is a dedicated doctor with a deep commitment to improving the delivery of health care for all those in need.”