Melanie Johnson

Senior Consultant

Health Management Associates

Atlanta, GA

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Melanie Johnson is a seasoned public healthcare professional with over 15 years of experience working in federal and state government roles. Melanie’s expertise includes Medicaid state plan and waiver development, continuous quality improvement, and ongoing monitoring of policies and operations of federal and state programs. 

Prior to joining HMA, Melanie served as technical director with the Division of Home and Community-Based Services Operations and Oversight (DHCBSO) at the Centers for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Services (CMCS). In this role, she provided expert interpretations to support home and community-based services (HCBS) and managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) federal regulations, policy statements, and guidance on the development and assessment of quality improvement effectiveness.  

Before serving as technical director, Melanie was a Medicaid branch chief in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Atlanta regional office. She supervised a team of policy analysts responsible for the program oversight and monitoring of state Medicaid and CHIP programs, managed care operations, and beneficiary customer service for eight states in the largest CMS regional office. She provided guidance to state agencies in program implementation, maintenance, and regulatory review, while ensuring compliance with federal statutes and regulations. Her CMS experience also includes serving as a health insurance specialist in the CMS Centers for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). In this role, she provided expertise in various areas such as Medicaid program development and the Affordable Care Act marketplace development for state-based/federal-facilitated marketplace implementation. 

Prior to joining CMS, Melanie served as a government analyst at Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration, where she managed behavioral health utilization management contracts and HCBS waivers.  

Melanie earned a Master of Science degree in School Psychology from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Bethune-Cookman University. She also published a research paper on coping strategies and perceived stress among African American young adults.