Ross K. Airington has over a decade of experience as a health care policy professional, writer, speaker, researcher, and educator. As President and Director of Health Policy, Ross is responsible for guiding clients through the complex and volatile world of federal health care politics and policy.

His areas of expertise include Medicare, Medicaid, and private payer reimbursement; health care finance and economics; prescription drug pricing and regulation; coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act; post-acute and long-term care; mental health and behavioral health; and policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining WSC, Ross played a key policy role at VCU Health System, serving as the subject-matter expert for Affordable Care Act implementation. During his time as the “Obamacare Guru” for VCU Medical Center and VCU Health Sciences, he created a comprehensive health policy curriculum for VCU’s medical, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry faculty. He also served as the Senior Health Policy Analyst for the Medical Society of Virginia.

In addition to his role as WSC’s policy chief, Ross is an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he teaches graduate-level health care policy at the VCU Schools of Medicine and Business. His areas of academic interest include international comparison of health care delivery systems, interprofessional education and collaboration, and multidisciplinary coordinated care.

Ross holds an M.S. in Health Administration and a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a B.A. in Political Science from James Madison University.