Verlon Johnson
Chief Strategy Officer
Verlon Johnson serves as Chief Strategy Officer for Acentra Health and has almost three decades of experience working in the health care policy and administration arena. She has a proven track record in optimizing processes, developing measurement systems, and building infrastructures to maximize program outcomes. She is also a nationally recognized expert in Medicare and Medicaid & CHIP policy and currently serves as a Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access (MACPAC) Commissioner.
Johnson joined CNSI in 2020 and helped lead the CNSI-Kepro merger that formed Acentra Health. Prior to CNSI, Johnson was an Associate Partner at IBM Watson Health where she provided strategic direction for innovation in Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance through financing, payment incentives, quality, and value-based care design consulting. IBM had the honor of providing support and assistance to the federal government as they strived to help their states and providers respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working closely with leadership within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Johnson led her team in developing CMS’s State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit and the State Medicaid & CHIP Telework Playbook.
Johnson held numerous leadership positions during her nearly 25 years in federal service including serving as the Associate Consortium Administrator for Medicaid and CHIP at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Acting Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, acting CMS Deputy Director for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), interim CMCS Intergovernmental and External Affairs group director, and Associate Regional Administrator for both Medicaid and Medicare.
Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis on Health Care Policy and Administration from Texas Tech University. She is also a Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Executive Scholar and the recipient of many professional honors. Johnson’s most treasured honor is the Federal Executive Board’s John F. Kennedy Leadership Excellence/Federal Employee of the Year Award, which acknowledged her passion and efforts to continuously improve the experiences and health outcomes of our nation’s priority populations.
