Buffy Heater is the Director of Planning and Development within the Program Integrity and Planning division of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. Mrs. Heater, originally from northeastern Oklahoma, received her undergraduate degree from Northeastern State University before receiving her Master’s degree in Public Health Administration and Policy from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Mrs. Heater joined the Health Care Authority in August 2002, after leading numerous community-based projects for the Community Action Resource & Development Agency in Bartlesville. In her current capacity as Planning Director, Mrs. Heater is responsible for overseeing the planning and development of projects complementing the agency’s vision and strategic plan. In particular, Mrs. Heater identifies key strategic opportunities for the OHCA and directly informs the decision-making processes relative to the pursuit and management of strategic initiatives. She directs the efforts of a team of experienced project managers and has been instrumental in the policy development, design, and implementation of multiple high priority projects for the OHCA. A few noteworthy projects include: the 2004 and 2008 Oklahoma Health Insurance Survey’s conducted by the University of Minnesota’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) which resulted in the first Oklahoma-specific survey of the uninsured; the establishment of Oklahoma’s first premium assistance program, Insure Oklahoma which currently makes affordable health insurance coverage available to thousands of Oklahoman’s; the incorporation of the Patient-Centered Medical Home model into the SoonerCare program in which the OHCA moved from a partially-capitated provider payment system to that of a fee-for-service payment arrangement; and the development of modifications necessary to comply with new federal regulations coming about from multiple sources including the Deficit Reduction Act, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Affordable Care Act. Mrs. Heater is responsible for the successful creation of proposals resulting in Oklahoma’s receipt of millions of federal grant dollars. To date, she has overseen the establishment of 11 grant projects for resulting in over $70,000,000 grant dollars coming into Oklahoma. Mrs. Heater’s currently oversees over 50 high-priority projects for the OHCA. The projects span across a variety of policy and operational areas including online enrollment, feasibility of coverage expansions, compliance with recent state and federal regulations, and health information technology initiatives.