Sarah Rafton, MSW

Associate Principal

Health Management Associates

Seattle, WA

[javascript protected email address]

Sarah Rafton has more than 25 years of experience advancing health policy and healthcare transformation for children, youth, and families. Her expertise spans policy development, healthcare transformation, and quality improvement with a strong focus on behavioral health integration, primary care and health equity. 

Before joining Health Management Associates, Sarah served as policy and advocacy director for Washington Thriving, where she led policy development and legislative adoption of Washington’s strategic plan for prenatal through age 25 behavioral health. Her efforts achieved unanimous support in the state legislature, secured a leadership team in the governor’s office, and expanded behavioral health support for schools. Over the course of her career, her policy work has established community health workers as a Medicaid benefit, increased Medicaid financing for health-related social needs and behavioral health screening, and advanced maternal health coverage and investments for early childhood well-being. 

Sarah has supported providers and systems with healthcare transformation initiatives, operationalizing policy change and enhancing care delivery. She partnered with Medicaid to model pediatric value-based payment methodologies, helped 10 primary care clinics integrate behavioral health services, and implemented a hospital-based patient navigation program that significantly reduced hospitalizations, lengths of stay, and no-show rates. 

Demonstrating her quality improvement leadership, Sarah has also spearheaded statewide learning collaboratives, including a collaborative that served 52 clinics and increased vaccinations by an average of 12 percent. She has facilitated data-driven health equity strategies, improving patient experience and increasing interpretation services by 50 percent for individuals with limited English proficiency. 

Sarah earned a Master of Social Work and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington. She has also completed leadership programs at Harvard Kennedy School and Massachusetts General Hospital.