Director, Health Policy

Breakthrough T1D (formerly known as JDRF); Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Breakthrough T1D (formerly known as JDRF) is seeking a Director of Health Policy to drive national access to diabetes technologies and medications for people with T1D. You will lead policy and reimbursement initiatives with payers, CMS, and private plans to remove barriers and accelerate adoption of CGMs, pumps, automated insulin delivery, and ketone monitors.

The role requires a strategic, executive-paced leader who can translate complex policy and health economics data into concise messages

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategic efforts to advance access to care, devices, and drugs for people with T1D.
• Lead national commercial health plan and public policy efforts to eliminate coverage barriers.
• Translate complex policy and health economics data into clear talking points for leaders and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Advocacy, Research, Medical Affairs, and Communications teams for alignment.
• Represent Breakthrough T1D at Congressional meetings, agency briefings, and industry conferences.
• Support access goals related to insulin, care, and health policy priorities.
• Provide external resources guidance for the T1D community and stakeholders.
• Develop external communication resources and keep stakeholder networks engaged.

Skills

Policy strategy

Public policy

Advocacy

Communication

Relationship management

Project management

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree (healthcare/business/policy)

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

The Director of Health Policy will drive strategic efforts to advance access to care, devices, and drugs for people with T1D. This role will be primarily responsible for advancing broad, affordable access to diabetes devices including continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, automated insulin delivery systems, and continuous ketone monitors.

Working closely with Breakthrough T1D’s leaders, research colleagues, and volunteers, the Director of Health Policy will lead national commercial health plan and public policy efforts to eliminate coverage barriers and modernize coding in order to accelerate the adoption of life-changing diabetes technology. The person in this role must be a motivated, executive-paced self-starter with a proven track record of leading successful, cross-functional policy and commercial reimbursement projects.

Specific Responsibilities

• Strategy Execution: Enhance and lead the execution of Breakthrough T1D’s diabetes technology and device access strategy to identify and systematically remove coverage barriers in both public and commercial markets.
• Payer & Stakeholder Engagement: Develop and maintain effective, impactful relationships with commercial health plans, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), employers, coding bodies (AMA/HCPCS), and other relevant external stakeholders.
• Regulatory Analysis: Lead the technical review and analysis of CMS rulemaking and private payer medical policies impacting access to T1D care.
• Community Resource Design: Provide technical guidance and subject matter expertise to support the development of external communication resources for the T1D community and other external stakeholders.
• Executive Communication: Translate complex public policy, reimbursement codes, and health economics data into clear, concise talking points and one-pagers for internal leaders and external stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with colleagues across Breakthrough T1D Advocacy, Research, Medical Affairs, and Communications teams to ensure technical alignment.
• External Representation: Serve as the access subject matter expert at Congressional meetings, agency briefings, workshops, and major healthcare industry conferences.
• Team Integration: Support other Breakthrough T1D access goals related to insulin, care, and general health policy priorities, as needed.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Advanced Degree/Masters in related healthcare, business, or policy field strongly preferred.

Experience & Requirements

• Years of Experience: 10+ years of experience in advocacy, market access, health care policy, medical device reimbursement, or digital health technology.
• Commercial and Government Payer Policy Expertise: Expert knowledge of public and private payer landscapes, reimbursement coding (HCPCS/CPT), and public policies impacting access.
• Systems Knowledge: Deep understanding of the US healthcare system is required.
• Detail & Self-Management: Detail-oriented, self-starter, with strong organizational skills who can manage processes autonomously.
• Communication Skills: Demonstrated ability to concisely present complex technology or financial concepts through exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Relationship Management: A team player with a proven ability to buildand manage relationships with all levels of staff, volunteers, external industry partners and government officials..
• Speed & Precision: Proven track record of working in dynamic environment to synthesize complex policies and deliver polished outputs under tight deadlines.
• Software: Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Travel: Ability to travel (less than 30%).