Penny Thompson

Deputy Director of the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification (CMCS)

Penny Thompson has been the Deputy Director of the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification (CMCS), within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), since August 2009. She is deeply involved in health care reform, technology, data and information, quality, and integrity matters within the Center.

Ms. Thompson has decades of experience both within and outside government working on Medicare and Medicaid 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 CMCS. She was also formerly the Director for Program Integrity at CMS. Prior to her service at CMS, Ms. Thompson 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.

Ms. Thompson has also spent more than a decade in the private sector. 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 is a graduate of the University of Virginia, from which she received her B.A., and the George Washington University, from which she received her M.P.A.
Review 2011 Presentation