About Dennis
Dennis Heaphy, MPH, MEd, MDiv, is a health justice advocate and researcher at the Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium, a Massachusetts-based disability rights advocacy organization. He is also a dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare beneficiary enrolled in One Care, a plan operating in Massachusetts under the CMS Financial Alignment Initiative.
Mr. Heaphy is engaged in activities that advance equitable whole person–centered care for beneficiaries in Massachusetts and nationally. He is co-founder of Disability Advocates Advancing Our Healthcare Rights (DAAHR), a statewide coalition in Massachusetts. DAAHR was instrumental in advancing measurable innovations that give consumers voice in One Care. Examples include creating a consumer-led implementation council that guides the ongoing development and implementation of One Care, an independent living LTSS coordinator role on care teams, and an independent One Care ombudsman.
Previously, he worked as project coordinator for the Americans with Disabilities Act for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and remains active on various MDPH committees that advance health equity. In addition to policy work in Massachusetts, Mr. Heaphy is on the advisory committee of the National Center for Complex Care Needs, Founders Council of the United States of Care, and a board member of Health Law Advocates, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit legal group representing low-income individuals. He received his master of public health and master of divinity from Boston University and master of education from Harvard University
