Someone else got the ring, but I got an offer!

Long ago, when I was applying to Medical School, I was rejected by Yale and Columbia on the same day that I was accepted at Harvard. Today, we found out that Peggy will be working with Wendall in the Speaker's office. She is pleased, and she should be; it is a perfect match. I, on the other hand, got this today.

"Orris, Allison B. (CMS/OL)"
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 14:11:07 -0500
To: "KELLER,DAVID"
Cc: "Boulanger, Jennifer L. (CMS)"
Conversation: Great to meet with you today.
Subject: RE: Great to meet with you today.


David,
It was very nice to meet you too. Thank you for your interest in learning more about OL and for taking the time to share with us your experiences and background. On our end, we would love to have you join us. We think we could put together a good portfolio of issues that would expose you to health reform implementation, the work we do with the rest of CMS to keep Medicaid running smoothly, and the daily interaction with Hill staff on pending legislative issues. We would of course be happy to continue the conversation as you also explore other options, but we do think having you join OL would be a good fit! Of course, we are still sorting through logistics on our end but are confident that we can work them out.

We look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to call either of us with questions anytime.

Allison
Director, Low Income Programs Analysis Group
CMS Office of Legislation
202-690-7762

From: KELLER,DAVID [mailto:david.keller@umassmemorial.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 12:26 AM
To: Boulanger, Jennifer L. (CMS); Orris, Allison B. (CMS/OL)
Subject: Great to meet with you today.

Office of Legislation
CMS
Washington DC


Dear Jennifer and Allison:

Thank you so much for your time and thoughtful discussion of the possible role of a Fellow in the Office of Legislation at CMS this year. I loved your description of CMS as an Agency that gets of lot done with few resources. Many of us in academic practices have faced similar circumstances, and know how it feels to be under-resourced. CMS will be in an interesting position when Health Reform passes. The legislation is quite complex, and it will be challenging to work within the Federal system to unravel and define the steps needed to implement the new systems. The challenges to both Medicare and Medicaid are enormous, and it would exciting to work with the people who know how to tackle them. I think that it would be helpful to have people with real clinical experience involved in the discussion. It would likely help to keep any new system that we build “real”, which is an important part of ensuring that this implementation goes smoothly.

I think that this could be a fit for me, particularly within the given my interest in children’s issues and my state and local experience with my own state Medicaid system and the State Legislature. I would be interested in continuing our conversations as I continue to explore opportunities within the Legislative and Executive Branches of government. I understand that you will need to figure out how a Fellow would fit into your unique environment, with the personnel office and the security people; please remember that, with the RWJ Fellows, salary, benefits and further training are covered by our Fellowship. Your costs are space, connectivity, a full and interesting portfolio and mentoring.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Thanks again for meeting with me today.

David Keller MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics
UMass Medical School
2009-10 RWJ Health Policy Fellow
Institute of Medicine

Guess this is an offer. My first. Feels pretty good.

I also had a meeting today with Kate Gross, one the Health Aides in Senator Rockefeller's office. Senator Rockefeller is on Senate Finance, and is likely to be participating in the conference committee when Health Reform moves on. He is passionate about children's issues, access issues, primary care issues, dental issues and making sure that the people of West Virginia are cared for. They liked that I had been to West Virginia several times; we spoke of my TA visit to Huntington W.Va. and the way in which health care has to be molded to fit into the social mileau in in which it is practiced. They talked about how CHIPRA is going to be a major issue in the coming times. They seem a great office; she plans to interview several other candidates and we will see.

So, one offer, waiting to hear from several other places. And I know someone in the Speaker's office. It will keep getting better and better.