Our Team
“The key to success is to begin with fact-based optimism: no problem is insurmountable, we simply need to apply new ways of thinking to age-old problems.”
Jason Helgerson
Founder & CEO
He/Him/His
Jason founded Helgerson Solutions Group and serves as its Chief Executive Officer, leading the firm’s mission of making the world a better place. An eternal optimist, Jason believes in new, innovative approaches to solving complex problems in health and social care. Jason also leads the firm’s portfolio of venture capital and private equity advising, as well as engaging in international comparative work, bringing the best ideas to change-makers across the globe.
Prior to his move to HSG, Jason was a nationally recognized leader in health care & delivery system reform. Most recently, he was New York State’s Medicaid Director, a role he held for over seven years. New York’s Medicaid program provides health care services to over 6.6 million New Yorkers and has an annual budget in excess of $68 billion. During his time leading the Medicaid program in New York, Jason secured New York’s 1115 Waiver from the federal government, which infused $8 billion for New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program (DSRIP). Over five years, the DSRIP program in New York created local, multi-sectoral partnerships with the aim of fundamentally restructuring the delivery of healthcare in New York & transitioning 80% of Medicaid payments into value-based arrangements.
Jason also served as Executive Director for New York’s Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), directing Governor Andrew Cuomo’s effort to fundamentally reshape the state’s Medicaid program in order to both lower costs and improve health care quality. Through this collaborative, stakeholder-driven process, the MRT accomplished $34 billion in savings over five years for the state & federal government. The MRT was recognized as a 2015 Innovation in American Government Finalist by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In 2015, Jason was recognized as a Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine.
Prior to his service to New York, Jason was Wisconsin’s Medicaid Director. In this capacity, he administered the state’s nationally-recognized BadgerCare Plus program for children and families (Wisconsin’s Medicaid and SCHIP programs), BadgerCare Plus Core Plan, SeniorCare (Pharmacy Plus Waiver), FoodShare (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and Wisconsin’s Chronic Disease Program.
Jason was also the principal project sponsor for BadgerCare Plus, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s signature health care initiative. Through this program, 98% of Wisconsin residents were ensured access to affordable health care, including all children.
Jason served as Executive Assistant/Policy Director to the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) from February 2005 to March 2007. Prior to joining DHFS, Jason served as the Executive Assistant for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
Prior to joining the Doyle Administration, Jason served as the Senior Education Policy Advisor for Mayor Ron Gonzales of the City of San Jose, CA. In this role, he provided advice and counsel to the Mayor on all issues related to children. Before joining Mayor Gonzales' staff, Jason worked for the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) where he served as both the chief lobbyist for the district and as a deputy budget director. Prior to taking the position with MPS, Jason worked for Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist where he was the Education Policy Advisor and served as a senior official in the Mayor's Budget Office.
Areas of Expertise
Value-based health care & payment structures
Health care delivery system reform
Private equity & venture capital investing
Health system delivery reform
International systems of care
Education
MPP, University of Chicago
BA, Political Science, American University
Affiliations
Clinical Associate Professor at the State University of New York at Albany, School of Public Health
Member, Board of Directors, Kepro
Member, Board of Directors, The MENTOR Network
Member, Advisory Board, MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative
Fellow, Health Innovators, Aspen Institute
Fellow, United State of Care