Senior Researcher
Alyson Emily Marano, R.N., B.S.N., M.P.H., is a senior researcher at L&M Policy Research with more than twenty years of experience working on public health policy issues and conducting program evaluation for a variety of audiences, including Medicare and Medicaid eligible populations as well as the uninsured and populations experience health disparities. Ms. Marano is skilled in qualitative research, including the design of studies as well as leading key informant interviews with providers, payers, consumers, and employers; conducting in-depth formative and cognitive interviews with consumers; and moderating focus group discussions with consumers and providers.
She has assisted with and extensively supported the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contracts related to Consumer Research on Communicating Coverage, Choice, and Quality, building upon the agency’s work in communications over the last decade to continue refining materials so that they promote informed health-care related choices among the public. On behalf of CMS, Ms. Marano is currently conducting qualitative research efforts to inform the development of web tools for the federally facilitated health insurance exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care Act. She is also supporting a multi-year contract as an Operations Review Specialist (ORS), working with states’ Medicaid Program Integrity (PI) Units to design and deliver a customized strategic roadmap of educational materials and learning opportunities that enhance a state’s PI priorities. Additionally, Ms. Marano is working as member of the project team for the Division of Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting (DVIQR) Program Support (DPS) task order to assist CMS with implementing the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), Hospital-Acquired Conditions Reduction Program (HACRP), Deficit Reduction Act Hospital-Acquired Conditions Program (DRA HAC), Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value Based Payment (VBP) Program, and ancillary implementation support for other value-based payment and public reporting programs.
Ms. Marano holds a B.S.N. from Georgetown University and is a Registered Nurse. She also earned her M.P.H. with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from the Boston University School of Public Health. She works remotely from her home located in Charleston, WV.