Christal Ramos
Christal Ramos is a principal researcher in the health division. She has over 16 years of experience implementing and studying policies and interventions to improve health equity, particularly for people with Medicaid or who are uninsured, and for communities of color. She is experienced in leading mixed-methods research, evaluation and technical assistance contracts that include community engagement, literature and policy reviews, interviews, focus groups, surveys, quantitative analysis and developing recommendations for policy and practice. Dr. Ramos is currently the deputy director of the National Evaluation of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to provide timely information about implementation, effectiveness, and equity of selected ARP programs across various governmental agencies. Dr. Ramos' recent publications include State Uptake of Medicaid Postpartum Extension Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, The Implementation of the Tennessee Fetal Assault Law and Its Association With Out-of-State Births Among Residents of Tennessee and Meeting Substance Use and Social Service Needs in Communities of Color.
Prior to coming to AIR, Dr. Ramos worked at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center where she led a number of federal contracts, including for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). She was also part of the federal evaluation teams for the Indiana and Montana Medicaid 1115 waiver demonstrations, for Iowa and Texas State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiatives, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Quality Demonstrations, and the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Health Information Technology for Economic Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.
Dr. Ramos also led federal and foundation contracts on payment and delivery system reforms, including on addressing social determinants of health in Medicaid and Medicare, health IT, preventive services and substance use services. In addition, she tracked the distribution of the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund, studied the impact of the pandemic on safety net providers, and supported shared learning among community-based organizations participating in the CDC’s Partnering for Vaccine Equity program to increase equity in immunization.
Prior to that, Dr. Ramos worked at the George Washington University School of Public Health Center for Health Care Quality where she was part of the National Program Office for several Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiatives aimed at improving quality and reducing disparities, including Aligning Forces for Quality. Before that, she worked at the American Academy of Physician Assistants, where she was responsible for their annual survey and other data that contributed to federal workforce datasets and shortage designations.
