Cheryl Phillips M.D.

Dr. Cheryl Phillips is the President and CEO of the Special Needs Plan Alliance, a national leadership association for special needs and Medicare-Medicaid plans serving vulnerable adults.

Prior to this, she was the Senior VP for Public Policy and Health Services at LeadingAge. She has also served as the Chief Medical Officer of On Lok Lifeways, the originator of the PACE (Program of All-Inclusive care for the Elderly) model based in San Francisco, and the Medical Director for Senior Services and Chronic Disease Management, for the Sutter Health System, a network of doctors, hospitals and other health providers in Northern California. As a fellowship-trained geriatrician, her clinical practice focused on nursing homes and long-term care continuum. While at Sutter Health, she developed and led a care coordination program for high-risk seniors enrolled in the Medicare Advantage plan.

Dr. Phillips is a past president of the American Geriatrics Society, the organization representing health care professionals committed to improving the health of America’s seniors; and is also a past president of the American Medical Directors Association, the physician organization for long-term care. She continues to serve on multiple technical advisory groups for chronic care, nursing home quality, and home and community-based services and has provided numerous testimonies to the U.S. Congress.

She is a frequent speaker to boards of directors for aging service providers, state, and national meetings. She served as a primary care health policy fellow under Secretary Tommy Thompson, and was appointed by the Governor as a California Commissioner on Aging and appointed to the Olmstead Advisory Committee for California. Dr. Phillips serves on the Board of Directors of both SCAN Health Plan and the SCAN Foundation.