Penny Thompson, MPA

Deputy Director
Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Penny Thompson has been the Deputy Director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), since August 2009. Penny leads activities related to Medicaid and CHIP policy, program operations, and financial management. Penny also leads coordination and planning efforts to prepare for the 2014 Medicaid expansion.

Penny has over 20 years of experience both within and outside government working on Medicaid and Medicare program issues, including over a dozen years in two previous stints at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2000 and 2001, she served as Deputy Director and Acting Director for the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (now CMCS). She was also formerly the Director for Program Integrity at CMS. Penny has also held senior management positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, where she conducted program and organizational evaluations on Medicare and Medicaid and authored dozens of reports on program operations, beneficiary satisfaction and experiences, and program integrity.

Penny also has more than a decade of private sector experience. She has provided expert advice and leadership on health care industry matters to a number of different organizations and companies, including public policy organizations, consulting organizations, and health care technology and service companies.

Ms. Thompson received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and holds an M.P.A. from The George Washington University.