Biography - Joel Slackman

Joel Slackman
Managing Director of Policy
Office of Policy and Representation
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA)

Joel Slackman is Managing Director of Policy for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA) Office of Policy and Representation.  He oversees the analysis and formulation of policy on health information technology legislation and regulations, and also on pharmaceutical issues.  He was previously the Executive Director for Private Health Care Policy for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), where he represented a wide variety of health insurance companies and health plans on issues ranging from medical malpractice reform, health care costs and access, to improving health care quality.  Before AHIP, Joel spent six years as Director of Managed Care for BCBSA, where he was responsible for helping formulate and advocate legislative positions on commercial managed care and Medicare business.

Prior to BCBSA, Mr. Slackman was consultant to the Administrator’s Special Analysis Staff at the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).  Earlier, he served for several years as the Executive Director, Program Evaluation, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, where he led the team that analyzed managed care and health care delivery issues in the military health care system.  During the Presidential Task Force on Health Care Reform, Joel served as the Secretary of Defense’s personal representative.  He has also served for more than ten years as Principal Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, and on the professional staff of the House Armed Services Committee.

Joel has a Master of Science in Public Policy Analysis, with a concentration in health care studies, from the University of Rochester.