Jessica Altman

Jessica Altman is the executive director of Covered California, overseeing the planning, development, administration, and evaluation of the exchange’s efforts to increase the number of insured Californians, improve health care quality, lower costs, and reduce health disparities through an innovative, competitive marketplace.

Covered California was established as the first health benefit exchange created under the Affordable Care Act. The exchange negotiates the premiums and patient-centered benefit designs with private, name-brand health insurance companies, and holds those companies accountable for improving the quality of care they provide all Californians, while addressing the health disparities that exist throughout the state’s diverse population.

Prior to her current role, Altman served as Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner from August 2017 to February 2022. She also worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, where she developed policy and facilitated implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Altman grew up in the Bay Area. She has a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Science in Policy Analysis and Management, with a concentration in Health Care Policy, from Cornell University.