Since June 2001, Chip has served as President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, the national advocacy organization for tax-paying hospitals.
Background
Mr. Kahn’s extensive health policy expertise, outstanding leadership abilities, lengthy Capitol Hill experience, and proven campaign and communications skills make him one of Washington, DC’s most effective and accomplished trade association executives.
Mr. Kahn is the only health care leader to appear on Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” list (formerly the “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” list) since its inception 22 years ago. In 2023, Mr. Kahn ranked 22nd on the list, and the publication said, “Kahn is one of the health care industry’s top lobbyists. He has had a lasting impact on hospital quality measures.”
Chip is the host of FAH’s Hospitals In Focus podcast, which shines a light on everything hospitals; from the advancements in patient care to how a facility benefits its community.
Mr. Kahn’s dedication to civic involvement has also been recognized. In 2016, he received the prestigious B’nai B’rith National Health Care Award, which has honored exceptional trailblazers in the health care industry for more than 30 years.
Mr. Kahn is at the leading edge of national initiatives to shape policy for advancing health care quality and information technology. From 2016 to 2023, he served as co-chair of the Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) Coordinating Committee of the National Quality Forum (NQF), a multi-stakeholder private-public partnership for developing and implementing a national strategy for health care quality measurement. He is also a former NQF Governing Board member and previously served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Quality for People with Serious Illness.
Mr. Kahn is a member of the Board of Directors of AdhereHealth, a medication therapy management company, and serves on the U.S. Executive Council for the Center for Digital Innovation (CDI). He was recently elected to the Washington National Opera (WNO) Board of Trustees. Mr. Kahn also served as chair and a Board member of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship, which funds a 12-month postgraduate experience in Washington, D.C., and scholarships for health policy graduate students. In November 2024, Mr. Kahn was appointed a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Health and Medicine Division Committee.
He is also a founding member and co-chair of the Future of Health (FOH) community. FOH brings together senior leaders from leading health organizations around the world to influence, transform, and redesign the health care landscape.
Mr. Kahn is an avid amateur photographer whose work has been displayed at juried exhibitions. You can see some of his photographs at chipkahn.com/.
Experience
Previously, Mr. Kahn served as a principal of the former Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA), a private-public partnership that he helped to initiate, and as a Commissioner of the American Health Information Community, a former federal policy advisory panel responsible for advising then-HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt about the diffusion of health information technology.
Before coming to the FAH, Mr. Kahn was one of the nation’s top public policy leaders for the health insurance industry. During his tenure as President of the HIAA, he focused national attention upon the plight of the uninsured. Mr. Kahn was recognized for this work as one of two “major movers” of an effort sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that brought together a diverse, “strange bedfellows” coalition of often-opposing major national advocacy organizations to seek solutions for extending health coverage.
In 1993 and 1994, as HIAA Executive Vice President, Mr. Kahn ran the precedent-setting “Harry and Louise” campaign, characterized by Advertising Age magazine as “among the best conceived and executed public affairs advertising programs in history.” It ultimately assumed a major role during consideration of President Clinton’s proposed health reform plan. In 2000, Mr. Kahn brought back “Harry and Louise” as advocates for the uninsured, a move applauded even by traditional critics of the health insurance industry.
Mr. Kahn has a long and distinguished career as a professional staff person on Capitol Hill, specializing in health policy issues. From 1995-1998, he played a crucial role in formulating significant health legislation while serving as staff director for the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. During this time, his efforts helped bring about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Medicare provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). From 1986-1993, Mr. Kahn served as minority health counsel for the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, where he contributed to shaping virtually every major piece of national health entitlement and health-related tax legislation. Earlier in his Capitol Hill career, he served as senior health policy advisor to former Senator David Durenberger (R-MN) and legislative assistant for health to then-Senator Dan Quayle (R-IN).
Mr. Kahn cut his political teeth in the 1970s. In 1974 and 1976, he managed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s first two campaigns for the House of Representatives, and in 1975, he worked for Mayor Moon Landrieu of New Orleans. From June 1980 to June 1983, Mr. Kahn directed the Office of Financial Management Education at the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) after completing an administrative residency with the Teaching Hospital Department of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Academics and Teaching
Mr. Kahn holds a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, which in 2001 bestowed upon him its prestigious “Champion of Public Health” award. He also received the school’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1988 and 2019. Additionally, he is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council.
Mr. Kahn received a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Johns Hopkins University. He was inducted into the Georgetown University Chapter of Upsilon Phi Delta, a national academic honor society for students in healthcare administration, and is a member of Delta Omega, the honorary society for graduate studies in public health.
Mr. Kahn taught health policy at Johns Hopkins University, The George Washington University, and Tulane University.
Publications
August 2024: Health Affairs published an article co-authored by Mr. Kahn entitled, “Advancing the future of equitable access to health care: recommendations from international health care leaders.” The paper identifies four key areas where health care leaders can drive significant improvement to achieve equitable health care access and innovative strategies for breaking down barriers and fostering cross-section partnerships.
July 2023: Health Affairs published a peer-reviewed study co-authored by Mr. Kahn entitled, “CMS Hospital Value-Based Programs: Refinements Are Needed To Reduce Health Disparities And Improve Outcomes.” The study concludes that individual health equity factors are more powerful indicators of success in the hospital value-based programs than a single bundle of several health equity measures.
December 2022: He co-authored a paper with other key members of FOH that analyzes the growing health care workforce crisis and makes recommendations for change. The paper “Designing the Health Care Workforce of the Future“ was published in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst.
May 2021: Health Affairs published a blog co-authored by Mr. Kahn entitled, “COVID-19 Will Upend Hospital Reporting And Value-Based Programs For Years To Come.” The piece from May 2021 examines the ways the pandemic will impact hospital quality data and the effects it could have on patient care.
July 2019: Mr. Kahn co-authored a paper with leaders from four major hospital associations. Modernizing the HCAHPS Survey: Recommendations from Patient Experience Leaders. The research piece explores how to update patient experience surveying to best improve patient care.
In another Health Affairs blog published in August 2017 , “The Future of Value-Based Payment—Time to Reexamine and Refocus Our Efforts,” Mr. Kahn critically examines current hospital payment programs and outlines the challenges that should be addressed to ensure the continued advancement of better and more efficient care across the health care delivery system.
August 2015: Health Affairs also published a report by Mr. Kahn entitled” Assessing Medicare’s Hospital Pay-for-Performance Programs and Whether They Are Achieving Their Goals.” It examined the impact of three key Medicare pay-for-performance programs: Value-based Purchasing (VBP), the Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HAC) Reduction Program, and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
February 2014: In Dead Sea, Israel, Mr. Kahn co-chaired “Measuring Quality in Hospitals – Are the Goals Conflicting?” an International Workshop sponsored by the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research. Earlier, in September 2009, in Caesarea, Israel, Mr. Kahn co-chaired another International Workshop sponsored by the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research entitled “Pay for Performance – Can it Improve the Quality and Value of Israeli Health Care?” He also serves as a member of the International Advisory Committee of The Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research.
Mr. Kahn has also written extensively about health financing. A commentary he authored – “Payment Reform Alone Will Not Transform Health Care Delivery” – appeared in January 2009 as a Web Exclusive for Health Affairs. Another commentary – “Intolerable Risk, Irreparable Harm: The Legacy Of Physician-Owned Specialty Hospitals” – and a paper for which he was the lead author – “Snapshot Of Hospital Quality Reporting And Pay-For-Performance Under Medicare” – appeared in the January/February 2006 edition of Health Affairs.
“Building A Consensus For Expanding Health Care Coverage,” co-authored with Ron Pollack of Families USA, appeared in the January/February 2001 edition of Health Affairs. Another paper that he co-authored – “Budget Bills As Precedents For Medicare Policy: The Politics of the BBA” – appeared in the January/February 1999 edition of Health Affairs, and “Why We Should Keep the Employment-Based Health Insurance System” is in the November/December 1999 edition of Health Affairs.
