Tom is a passionate and innovative health care executive dedicated to ensuring that public and private health care organizations are ready to address the ongoing opportunities and challenges of health system transformation, with a particular focus on delivering high-quality patient care. He was recognized as one of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Innovators of 2023. Tom leads multiple national organizations dedicated to advanced illness, hospice, and palliative care, and he is a respected advocate and expert in health care delivery and policy. Alongside the Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, a partner at Healthsperien, he is helping to lead and elevate the conversation on mental health and addiction health care access and payment reform. Tom’s leadership extends to key areas such as Medicare, elder care, advanced illness, and hospice care, reflecting a career that encompasses legislative and policy roles in the U.S. Senate, advisory positions at the state level, and strategic initiatives for major health care companies.

Tom has an extensive background in health care leadership. He previously served as President and CEO of Capital Caring Health, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit provider of advanced illness, hospice, palliative care services, and home-based primary care, and now holds the position of Chairman of the Board, where he provides strategic guidance and leadership. also holds a board position at Chapters Health System, of which Capital Caring Health is an affiliate. Tom is the CEO of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), a unique not-for-profit organization consisting of over 100 community-based hospice, palliative and advanced illness providers. Additionally, Tom co-founded and co-chairs the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, a coalition of over 200 organizations focused on developing person-centered care models for the seriously ill. Furthermore, Tom is a co-founder and actively involved in ACTNow for Mental Health, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to mental health services and support while addressing mental and behavioral health stigma among young adults aged 17-32.

Tom’s expertise extends across health policy, business, communications, and public and government affairs. He is Founder and President of Healthsperien, LLC, a renowned health care policy consulting firm focusing on federal and state regulatory and legislative analysis, advocacy, and implementation. Before founding Healthsperien, Tom held significant roles, including Senior Vice President and Founding Executive Director of the Mintz Levin Center for Health Law & Policy and Corporate Vice President at UnitedHealth Group. During his tenure at UnitedHealth Group, Tom led both Government and Public Affairs during legislative milestones that saw the adoption and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the addition of Medicare Advantage and Part D programs, as well as spearheaded national communications initiatives.”

Earlier in his career, Tom held key roles shaping his health care expertise. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief of Public Affairs at VITAS Healthcare Corporation. He also spent over 12 years in the United States Senate, working as a Senior Advisor and Health Care Aide to US Senator Birch Bayh. He also served as an Executive Assistant &Federal Affairs advisor with former Indiana Governor (and later Senator) Evan Bayh. Tom also worked as a health policy advisor at the Hogan Lovells law firm (formerly Hogan and Hartson law firm) and started his career in public affairs at Burson Marsteller.

Tom’s policy and business acumen have driven significant changes in the health care system, particularly in advancing innovation in the advanced illness domain. He played a pivotal role in creating and developing the Medicare Hospice Benefit during his time at Hogan Lovells, working closely with stakeholders, federal agencies, and Congress to make it a permanent part of Medicare. Additionally, Tom is actively engaged in initiatives focused on quality care for those with serious illnesses, serving as a member of the Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He also holds a leadership position in the Project on Advanced Care at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School.

He has drawn top-tier media attention in addition to being an award-winning leader. He was interviewed and featured in the Wall Street Journal. The article “Tom Koutsoumpas Wants to Ease the Ordeal of Dying” took the reader through his journey and work with hospice and advanced illness. In the fall of 2022, he was named to the Modern Healthcare Top 300 Influential People in Healthcare list, honoring those recognized as the most influential individuals in the industry regarding leadership and impact. Tom co-authored A Roadmap to Success: Transforming Advanced Illness Care in America and the foreword to the publication, Having Your Own Say: Getting the Right Care When It Matters Most (2012) by Gundersen Health System and the Center for Health Transformation. During COVID, Hospice News did a piece on his work at Capital Caring and NPHI, “Changemakers: Tom Koutsoumpas, CEO, Capital Caring Health.”

Tom received his Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., attended Georgetown Law School, and served on the Georgetown University Board of Regents.