Charles N. Kahn III

Charles N. ("Chip") Kahn III (born 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American health policy expert and former trade association executive. He served as president and chief executive officer of the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) from from 2001 until his retirement on December 31, 2025 .Chip is currently a visiting senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) , a senior visiting fellow at KFF , where he hosts the podcast KFF's Business of Health with Chip Kahn, and a nonresident senior scholar at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics .

Early life and education Kahn was born and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Kahn did his undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins University

Career After graduating Kahn completed an administrative residency with the Teaching Hospital Department of the Association of American Medical Colleges. He then served as the director at the Office of Financial Management Education at the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. He later served as a senior health policy advisor to former senator David Durenberger (R-MN) and as legislative assistant for health to then-senator Dan Quayle (R-IN). In 1969, Kahn served in what became the successful campaign for Maurice Edwin ("Moon") Landrieu, elected in 1970 as Mayor of New Orleans, and worked in Mayor Landrieu's Administration in 1975. From 1993 to 1995 and from 1998 to 2001, Kahn held positions with the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer/President-Designate and President.

Health reform debates During the Obama Administration's 2009–2010 health reform initiative, Kahn, as President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, worked with leaders of the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States in creating a hospital industry agreement with congressional leaders and the administration. The agreement played a role in the passage and enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (42 USC 18001). During the Clinton administration's 1993–1994 health reform initiative, Kahn was responsible for the Health Insurance Association of America’s "Harry and Louise" $14–20 million advertising/public affairs campaign, which influenced the national debate by opposing President Clinton’s healthcare proposal.

Retirement and later career In June 2025, Kahn announced that he would retire as FAH president and CEO effective December 31, 2025, after leading the organization for 24 years. He was succeeded by Charlene MacDonald, who had led the FAH's lobbying and public affairs operations and became CEO on January 1, 2026.

In 2026, Kahn joined the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting senior fellow, where his work focuses on health care policy and payment reform. He concurrently serves as a senior visiting fellow at KFF, where he hosts the podcast KFF's Business of Health with Chip Kahn, and as a nonresident senior scholar at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. He is a founding member and co-chair of the Future of Health, an international collaborative of senior health care leaders.

Kahn has served as an adjunct professor of health policy and management at Tulane University since 2021, and has taught health policy at Johns Hopkins University, Tulane University, and George Washington University. which was established under the Affordable Care Act to advise the federal Department of Health and Human Services on selecting measures for public reporting and performance-based healthcare payment programs. Additionally, he served as a member of the Governing Board of the National Quality Forum (NQF), where he helped build consensus on national priorities for healthcare quality reform and the standards for measuring and reporting on quality. The HQA is a national private–public collaboration focused on improving hospital quality and making comparative quality information available to the public through the Hospital Compare website.

Recognition

Kahn appeared on Modern Healthcares annual "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare" list every year since 2022 . The Hill newspaper listed Kahn as "one of Washington, D.C.’s top lobbyists" for 16 consecutive years.

He received Tulane University's Champion of Public Health Award in 2001, the B'nai B'rith National Healthcare Award in 2016.