For Immediate Release: September 2005

Kelly Gent has joined Optimal Solutions Group LLC (Optimal) as a Research Associate in its Health Policy Research Center. Mrs. Gent uses her knowledge and expertise of the health-policy field to assist federal and state policymakers assess the economic and social impact of public health issues by using quantitative and qualitative research tools from statistical analysis and geographic mapping to focus groups and survey.

Extremely knowledgeable within the field of health policy and analysis, Mrs. Gent worked for the Department of Medical Assistance Services ( Virginia’s Medicaid Agency) as a Health Policy and Reimbursement Specialist, a Policy and Research Manager, and most recently, as the Department’s Acting Director. Within that position, she led policy discussion, analysis, interpretation, and research for Virginia’s Medicaid program. Her primary duties included participating on the agency’s management team, managing the division’s budget, completing evaluation projects, and reviewing final products. During the legislative session, Mrs. Gent developed and reviewed legislative impact statements on each bill related to Medicaid, met with legislators and committee staff, and drafted legislation for agency initiatives. Her work as a legislative analyst, senior legislative analyst, and project leader with the state of Virginia allowed her to broaden her understanding of health policy and legislation. Some of Mrs. Gent’s tasks included developing study design, writing and administering surveys, and conducting data analysis, such as multivariate regression, using Microsoft Excel and SAS. Reports on which Mrs. Gent had a major role in conducting analysis and drafting sections of the final report include: Review of Construction Costs and Time Schedules for Virginia Highway Projects; Review of Virginia’s System of Capital Punishment; Review of the Medicaid Reimbursement System for Inpatient Hospital Care; Follow-Up Study of Welfare Reform; and Review of the Performance and Management of the Virginia Department of Health. She also participated in a study which became a published legislative report. In addition to the written product, Mrs. Gent presented findings from the report to the Commission and a sub-committee of the Senate Finance Committee.

Mrs. Gent holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Political Science, a Certificate in Management Studies from the Simon School of Business, and a Master of Sciences in Public Policy from the University of Rochester.

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Optimal Solutions Group, LLC, is a minority-owned economic and policy analysis consulting firm in the Baltimore-Annapolis-Washington, DC area. We are committed to supplying insightful program evaluation, cost-benefit and effectiveness analyses, custom econometric modeling, and market analyses for decisionmakers in both the public and private sectors.

Optimal has served the needs of numerous governmental and commercial clients, including federal and state agencies, community-based organizations, business associations, and law firms.

For more information, contact Mark Turner, 443.451.7060 or mturner@optimalsolutionsgroup.com.