This is a profile image of Jessica P. Kahn

Jessica P. Kahn

Coleader of our US state Medicaid and social services information technology work

Jess specializes in state Medicaid and social services programs, public-sector data, and technology. She has over 25 years of experience in national, state, and local healthcare programs in government, not-for-profit, and corporate settings.

Examples of her recent client work include the following:

  • crafting integrated health and human services eligibility system, and/or Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) modernization road maps
  • assessing technical and operational readiness for Medicaid expansion and for state-based exchanges
  • aligning organizational and business transformations with Medicaid IT modernization efforts
  • improving governance and data sharing across agencies and localities to improve health and social determinants of health outcomes
  • identifying health and human services enterprise opportunities for collaboration to improve customer experience and reduce duplicative IT investments

She has also worked with Medicaid health insurance plans on business-development and data analytics strategy; supported government services companies on their growth and digital strategies; and counseled multiple communities and non-profit organizations on effective, sustainable, and systems-level responses to addressing social determinants of health, and unmet need for behavioral health and substance use services.

Jess was recently named one of the four Most Influential Women in Healthcare IT by HIMSS for 2018. Prior to joining McKinsey, Jess led data and systems for Medicaid at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including authoring major policies governing $5 billion in annual federal investments in state eligibility, claims processing, data analytics and health information exchange systems, establishing the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, and building the flagship national Medicaid data set.

  • Healthcare
  • Medicaid

Published work

Accelerating data and analytics maturity in the US public sector,” McKinsey & Company, November 2022

Federal funding may boost social determinants of health infrastructure,” McKinsey & Company, November 2022

Lessons in leadership: Using data to drive public-health decisions,” McKinsey & Company, August 2022

As more Americans ask for public aid, could integrated benefits help?,” McKinsey & Company, June 2022

Insights into better integrated eligibility systems,” McKinsey & Company, November 2019

Addressing the social determinants of health,” McKinsey & Company, April 2019

Past experience

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Director, Medicaid data and systems group
State systems division director
Senior technical advisor, state ACA implementation
Technical director for health IT
Health insurance specialist

Maryland State AIDS Administration
Director, HIV/AIDS services

USAID Global Health Bureau
Global health fellow

Louisiana Office of Public Health
Director, Title X Family Planning Program

Education

Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
MPH

University of Texas at Austin
BA, government, French language