Raising Health The Future of Healthcare Payments: CMS Chief of Staff Stephanie Carlton
Nov 24, 2025
Stephanie Carlton, Chief of Staff at CMS and former labor and delivery nurse, discusses her journey through healthcare and her current mission managing $1.7 trillion in health spending. She shares insights on innovative CMS strategies, like integrating consumer health apps and real-time provider data to speed up payment processes. Carlton emphasizes shifting focus to prevention and new quality measures, while explaining recent decisions on funding and how her diverse team is blending startup mentality with policy expertise.
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From L&D Nurse To CMS Chief Of Staff
- Stephanie Carlton traced her path from labor-and-delivery nurse to Senate staffer, McKinsey consultant, and CMS deputy administrator.
- She took the CMS role quickly after a late request from Dr. Oz, emphasizing mission over pay and desire to make systemic impact.
Medical Missions Sparked A Career
- Stephanie's early medical mission trips with her trauma-surgeon father inspired her belief in healthcare's power to change lives.
- Those experiences led her to nursing and a lifelong mission to make healthcare more impactful for patients.
Mix Founders With Policy Veterans
- Build teams that mix policy veterans with startup founders and operators to combine domain knowledge and execution experience.
- Use diverse skill sets to avoid repeating past policy mistakes while enabling bold, practical change.