John F. Holahan, Ph.D.

John F. Holahan, (Ph.D. in Economics, Georgetown University), is the founder of the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center where he served as center director for over 30 years. Holahan is a nationally recognized expert on the Medicaid program, Medicaid and Medicare reform, and coverage, costs, and economic impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the costs of Medicaid expansion and the macroeconomic effects of the law. Holahan led an effort to develop reform options for the state of Massachusetts and estimate their cost and coverage effects, contributing to the state’s landmark legislation in 2006, which brought it to near universal coverage and laid the groundwork for the ACA. He currently serves as an Urban Institute Fellow of 9 years, whose recent work focuses on health reform, the uninsured, and health expenditure growth, as well as developing proposals for health system reform.