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Karen Llanos

Director, Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP)
Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Karen Llanos, MBA, is the Director of the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program at the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program, launched in 2014, provides technical support to states’ ongoing Medicaid delivery system reform efforts across programmatic areas such as physical-mental health integration; community-based LTSS; and substance use disorders. In addition, IAP works with states to build capacity around quality measurement; value-based payment and financial simulations; data analytics; and performance improvement. To date, IAP has worked with 31 states, the District of Columbia, and three Territories through its direct technical support activities.

Before her work on IAP, Ms. LLanos was a Senior Policy Advisor and Technical Director for initiatives related to quality measurement and improvement at CMCS. These initiatives included the CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grants; the AHRQ-CMS Pediatric Quality Measures Program; the Medicaid Adult Quality Grant Program; and the Technical Assistance and Analytic Support Program for states reporting children and adult health care quality measures. Prior to joining CMS, Ms. LLanos was a health policy consultant to the New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services and worked closely with state officials to improve the quality and effectiveness of its care management program. Ms. LLanos also served as a senior program officer at the Center for Health Care Strategies, where she provided technical assistance to Medicaid agencies interested in infusing quality into their health care delivery systems through performance measurement, monitoring processes, and contracting standards.