James R. Tallon, Jr. is Chairman of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Mr. Tallon is President of the United Hospital Fund of New York, the nation's oldest federated charity. The Fund addresses critical issues affecting hospitals and health care in New York City through health services research and policy analysis, education and information activities, and grantmaking and voluntarism.

Mr. Tallon served as chair of the Kaiser Commission on the Future of Medicaid and is a member of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). He also serves as Secretary for the Alpha Center and for the Association for Health Services Research, and is on the boards of the Alliance for Health Reform, The Commonwealth Fund, and the New York Academy of Medicine. He recently concluded a three-year term as a member of the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC), and has held visiting lecturer appointments at the Columbia University and Harvard University Schools of Public Health.

Prior to joining the Fund in 1993, Mr. Tallon served in the New York State Assembly for nineteen years, beginning in 1975. As Majority Leader from 1987 to 1993, and as Chair of the health committee from 1979 to 1987, he spearheaded efforts to reform the Medicaid program while expanding eligibility for pregnant women and children.