Community Health Advocates | New York

Ryan Kim is a rising junior at Harvard College, studying Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology, and Global Health and Health Policy.

At the start of his sophomore year, Ryan began working with Community Health Advocates (CHA), the designated Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Program of New York State under the Affordable Care Act. Working directly with patients, providers, and insurance companies, Ryan provides legal assistance to underinsured patients in New York who have been denied coverage for medically necessary treatments. His work with CHA has made him deeply interested in the intersection of law and medicine in promoting health coverage and outcomes for individuals with limited access to our healthcare system.

Ryan’s service role with CHA this summer will include direct case work, communicating with patients about their experiences, conducting medical research to evaluate each patient’s case history, and writing legal appeals. He will also conduct larger-scale health policy work with New York State regulators, seeking to enact regulatory and legislative changes to protect the external appeal rights of underinsured patients in New York.

On Harvard’s campus, Ryan also works as an Emergency Medical Technician and manages the CPR program at CrimsonEMS. He is Co-Editor in Chief of The Harvard Brain, and co-directs Harvard Artists for Alzheimer’s.