Melissa Hafner

Melissa Hafner is a principal researcher at AIR. Since 2007, she has led various qualitative and quantitative studies, and has managed complex projects involving high-level technical assistance in federal, nonprofit, and contracted research positions.

Hafner currently works on an evaluation of the California Health Foundation’s initiative to integrate behavioral health in primary care clinics, and also leads an evaluation of care transformation initiatives in Maryland that are being implemented in hospitals, primary care practices, and other settings. She has also worked on a number of evaluations and other studies focusing on vulnerable populations, including an evaluation of TANF reform in Maine, as the measures lead for IMPAQ’s evaluation of the District of Columbia’s 1115 substance use disorder waiver, and as the director of a project funded by Arnold Ventures that examined care integration for dually-eligible beneficiaries. Her programmatic knowledge also spans Medicare physician payment reform, Medicaid managed care quality, and state-based health care exchanges.

Previously, Hafner was a senior program analyst at the Office of Evaluation and Inspections within the Office of the Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she designed and led evaluations of HHS programs.