Allyson Y. Schwartz is a longtime public servant and nationally recognized leader on health care policy. A former Member of Congress for a decade (2005-2015), she was the 7th woman elected to Congress from PA. and to date the longest serving woman, and was the only woman in the state delegation for most of her tenure. Schwartz ascended to the powerful Ways and Means Committee in her second term and served as a senior member of the Budget Committee. Schwartz was a strong advocate for health care access, quality, affordability and equity and was directly involved in the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Prior to Congress, Schwartz served 14 years in the PA. State Senate (1990-2005) and was well known for her successful efforts on women and children’s health and well-being, including being the driving force behind Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program known as CHIP.
As state senator she served as Democratic Chair of the Education Committee. She was a strong advocate for adequate and fair funding for public schools, led successful efforts for full-day kindergarten, quality pre-school by creating the star ratings program for childcare centers and established a loan forgiveness program for child care workers.
After her tenure in Congress, Schwartz was founding President & CEO of Better Medicare Alliance, the leading national research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage.
Earlier in her career, Schwartz was the founding Executive Director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women, a non-profit health center established shortly after Roe v Wade. She went on to serve as Commissioner of the Philadelphia Dept. of Human Services.
Schwartz has a MSW from Bryn Mawr College and two Honorary Doctorates. She currently serves on several non-profit boards and is Senior Adviser to several health policy entities. She lives in Philadelphia, is married and has two grown sons, two daughters-in-law and three wonderful grandchildren.
