The former Director of the CMS Innovation Center joins as Upside expands across Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and the employer market.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Upside, a housing stability platform built for health care, today announced that Liz Fowler, PhD, JD, has joined its Board of Directors. Fowler led the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) from March 2021 to January 2025, where she oversaw the federal portfolio of alternative payment and care delivery models.
"Liz has spent her career working on how this country pays for care that works," said Jake Rothstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Upside. "States are adding housing supports to their Medicaid programs, and health plans are deciding what to buy and how to measure it. Her experience across payment, evidence, and policy will make our board stronger as we grow."
Fowler is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Health Transformation Strategies and a Distinguished Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She previously served as Chief Health Counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, where she helped draft the Affordable Care Act; Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council; Vice President of Global Health Policy at Johnson & Johnson; and in leadership roles at the Commonwealth Fund. She holds a PhD in health policy from Johns Hopkins and a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Following a $20 million Series A, co-led by Aquiline and Flare Capital Partners, Upside is growing its Medicaid managed care and Medicare Advantage business and has launched a housing benefit for self-insured employers. The company serves Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, D-SNP, commercial, and employer-sponsored populations in more than 240 languages, with Care Guides who stay with each member from crisis placement through long-term tenancy.
"Where someone lives shapes whether the rest of their care plan works," said Fowler. "What drew me to Upside is that the team doesn't stop at a referral. They help people find housing they can keep, stay with them after they move in, and measure the results, which is the kind of evidence payers and policymakers need. I'm glad to join the board as the company takes its next steps."
About Aquiline
Aquiline is a global private investment firm with offices in New York, London, and Philadelphia that focuses on financial services and technology. As of June 30, 2026, Aquiline had approximately $11 billion of assets under management and deployed approximately $8.7 billion of capital across the firm's strategies since inception.
For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, visit www.aquiline.com.
About Flare Capital Partners
Flare Capital Partners is a leading healthcare technology venture capital firm advancing innovation-driven companies to improve positive health outcomes, broaden care access, and lower healthcare costs. We partner with exceptional founders solving healthcare's hardest challenges, supporting each with our deep sector expertise, unparalleled industry resources, and proven access to commercial opportunities. Our team of established investors and senior operating executives has invested in 80+ companies and has nearly $1 billion in assets under management. Learn more at www.flarecapital.com.
About Upside
Getting housed takes knowledge, time, and money. Most people are short at least two. Upside is a housing stability platform that brings all three — partnering with health plans and employers to find members and employees facing housing instability and work the problem to completion. Dedicated Care Guides, housing specialists trained in behavioral health engagement, own each case from first call to signed lease, supported by AI-assisted housing orchestration built to make them faster, not replace them. Upside serves Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, D-SNP, commercial, and employer-sponsored populations across the full housing continuum, from crisis to long-term tenancy support. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
SOURCE Upside
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