Biography

Kay E. Maassen Gouwens joined the firm in 1991, became a partner in 1994, and has been Of Counsel to the firm since 2002.   Her practice is now devoted to working with tribes and tribal health organizations in their efforts to strengthen the Indian health system and improve health outcomes for Alaska Natives and American Indians – especially by seeking to preserve and expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage and reimbursement for Indian health services.  Ms. Gouwens works on issues involving the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act, Medicare and Medicaid, and licensure and certification of health facilities and health professionals. She is a Technical Advisor to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Tribal Technical Advisory Group (CMS TTAG), which works to advance tribal health policy goals; an active member of the National Indian Health Board’s Medicare, Medicaid, and Health Reform Policy Committee  (MMPC); and a frequent advisor to Alaska tribal health organizations in their dealings with the Alaska Medicaid program.

Before joining the firm, Ms. Gouwens served for two years as Special Assistant Attorney General to the Alaska Governor’s Office in Washington DC, where she worked on health and Alaska Native issues; five years as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alaska, where she represented the Alaska Public Offices Commission, the Alaska Division of Insurance, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Alaska Medical Board, and other Alaska health licensing boards and agencies; and three years with the Anchorage office of a large Seattle-based law firm.  

Ms. Gouwens graduated in 1977 from Hope College in Holland Michigan with a degree in History (magna cum laude), and from Harvard Law School in 1981.  She is admitted to the Alaska bar.