Ms. Holt has considerable analytical and operational experience in Medicaid managed mental health carve outs, Medicaid managed care for people with disabilities and child welfare services. She is currently researching options available under the Affordable Care Act for health homes centered in substance abuse treatment settings for the MA Department of Public Health. She is also working with the Massachusetts chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the Association for Behavioral Healthcare to recommend a strategy for financing statewide implementation of jail diversion programs in police departments. Ms. Holt recently completed issue briefs summarizing lessons learned from Minnesota’s federal Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment; collaborated with the Lewin Group on a study of the Massachusetts children’s mental health workforce; and conducted a case study of the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for the Commonwealth Fund.

Trained in economics (BA, University of Wisconsin, 1974) and public policy (Masters, Kennedy School of Government, 1979), Ms. Holt has a number of areas of expertise, including: assisting states to design, procure and evaluate Medicaid managed behavioral health care plans; performance measures and cross-state benchmarking of Medicaid and mental health authority services for children; assessments of state and region mental health and substance abuse needs and gaps utilizing quantitative and qualitative data; and analysis of human service provider financial condition and rate adequacy.

Prior to joining DMA, Ms. Holt served as Manager of Policy and Planning at MHMA, the first statewide Medicaid behavioral health carve out in the nation. In that position, she had key roles in network development, provider performance profiling, client outcomes measurement, outpatient utilization management, and CQI team leadership. Ms. Holt also served as Director of Administration and Finance for a mental health clinic and Supervising Management Auditor at the State Auditor’s Office.