New York, NY (May 27, 2026) –  The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) is pleased to announce that Susannah M. Bernheim, MD, MHS, will join the organization in July as Vice President, Program and Strategy. She brings nationally recognized leadership at the intersection of health care quality, policy, research and care delivery. Dr. Bernheim will succeed Rani E. Snyder, MPA, who served in the role for 10 years before becoming JAHF’s new president in January.

Dr. Bernheim is a family physician and currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She provides strategic and clinical guidance in the development of new payment and care delivery models for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. She leads the Center’s quality strategy and evidence-based prevention strategy. She previously served as the CMS Innovation Center’s Chief Quality Officer.

Prior to joining CMS, Dr. Bernheim was an Associate Professor at Yale University School of Medicine in General Internal Medicine and Senior Director of Quality Measurement at the Yale-New Haven Hospital Centers for Outcomes Research and Evaluation. She previously served as Deputy Director for Performance Management for Yale New Haven Health System.

“I’m excited to welcome Dr. Bernheim to The John A. Hartford Foundation team as we enter the next phase of our work to spread age-friendly care and support family caregivers,” said JAHF President Rani E. Snyder. “Her experience improving health care quality and delivery at the clinical, health system, and federal policy levels makes her an exceptional fit for our program and strategy leadership.”

“For years, I have admired the work of The John A. Hartford Foundation and its impact on improving care for older adults across the country,” Dr. Bernheim said. “The foundation has advanced an important national conversation to promote age-friendly care. I'm so excited to join Rani Snyder and her team to drive this work forward, helping to build the partnerships and initiatives needed to create large-scale health system transformation.”

Dr. Bernheim completed her undergraduate degree at Yale University and her medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). After postgraduate training in Family Medicine at UCSF, Dr. Bernheim was a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program and the Training Program in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-Related Research at Yale University. 

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Media Contact: Kiri Oliver, kiri.oliver@johnahartford.org, 212-324-7484

About The John A. Hartford Foundation
The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan, national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. For more than four decades, the organization has been the leader in building a field of experts in aging and testing and replicating innovative approaches to care. The foundation has three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. Working with its grantees and partners, the foundation strives to change the status quo and create a society where older adults can continue their vital contributions. For more information, visit johnahartford.org.