Mara Baer

Experience

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  Brandon Woods Retirement Community

  Aug 1994 - Sept 1996

  Director of Social Services & Admissions

  Mara oversaw all social service needs of residents during a significant expansion of the long-term care facility, contributing to the development of new programs and initiatives including those serving Alzheimer's patients. She conducted sub-acute and acute care assessments of hospital patients to determine skilled nursing facility eligibility. Mara supported families and residents in all aspects of nursing home placement and led all family and resident support groups in addressing concerns and grievances. Show less

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  Physical Therapy Provider Network

  May 1996 - Aug 1999

  Provider Services Representative

  Mara was the liaison between in-network physical therapy providers and managed care organizations in Northern California. In this role she conducted on-site reviews of network providers for quality assurance purposes, trained providers on quality assurance and billing issues.

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  U.S. Administration on Aging

  Aug 2001 - May 2002

  Presidential Management Fellow

  Mara served as an advisor to senior Agency leadership, conducting policy analysis and coordinating inter-agency activities. She served as a representative for the Agency at regional listening sessions and coordinated efforts to draft budget justifications including for emergency supplemental funding in response to the events of September 11, 2001.

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  Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee

  May 2002 - May 2003

  Legislative Fellow

  Mara served as advisor to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy on key health care policy issues related to; Alzheimer’s disease, long-term care, women’s health, and preventive health and chronic disease. Mara developed original legislation on long-term worker shortages and arthritis prevention and research.

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  U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)

  May 2003 - Jun 2006

  Senior Health Policy Advisor

  Mara was senior advisor to the Senator managing: health care, aging and Social Security issues, as well as appropriations in related policy areas. Mara developed and implemented the Senator's health care agenda including passage of original legislation. She advised the Senator on all aspects of Medicare Modernization Act debate of 2003 and successfully obtained passage of medication therapy management legislation during that debate. Mara also spearheaded early efforts to advance comparative effectiveness legislation. Show less

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  American Society of Health System Pharmacists

  Jun 2006 - May 2007

  Director, Federal Legislative Affairs

  Mara led federal legislative affairs efforts for ASHP and advised the Society's senior leadership on policy and advocacy strategies related to hospital pharmacy issues including; Medicare, Medicaid and drug safety. In this role she also spearheaded efforts of a national medication therapy management coalition and developed legislative proposals on medication error prevention and restricted drug distribution systems.

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  Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

  Jun 2007 - Dec 2014

  Managing Director, Federal Relations

  Over seven years, Mara was a member of BCBSA's senior management team in the Office of Policy and Representation and was responsible for the development and oversight of external outreach strategies, including interactions with key Administration officials regarding implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This included development of tactics to address key health plan regulatory and operational priorities. During this time Mara also oversaw the work of a broad-based national affordability coalition representing employers, providers, pharmacy benefit managers and insurers. Show less

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  AgoHealth, LLC

  Jan 2015 - now

  Founder & President

  Mara evaluates health care market dynamics and provides guidance and support for market entry, payer engagement, and partnership development. She evaluates the impact of federal and state policy on business strategy, and develops and implements state and federal policy engagement strategies in support of business development and growth. Mara spearheads health policy development processes among cross-divisional and multi-stakeholder teams to drive consensus. She also helps organizations by leading multi-disciplinary teams through management of complex projects. Show less

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  Chronic Pain Chats (Substack)

  Sept 2023 - now

  Chronic Pain Advocate & Author