Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. today announced it has named Nashville resident Brian Haile as the company’s first senior vice president for health policy.

Previously, Haile served as the director of the insurance exchange planning initiative of Tennessee, where he worked with the Bureau of TennCare and the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance to advise state officials on issues related to the federal health reform legislation. 

In the newly created position, Haile will be responsible for the planning and execution of programs and services surrounding the Affordable Care Act and assisting Jackson Hewitt clients in navigating new tax credit programs and insurance exchanges. He will also serve as a liaison with federal and state agencies.

“Brian Haile is recognized as an expert in navigating the complexities of health systems and policy,” Philip H. Sanford, president and chief executive officer of Jackson Hewitt, said in a release. “As regulations related to the enactment of the ACA begin to be incorporated into the U.S. tax code, Brian’s leadership and expertise in this space will quickly prove to be a benefit to our company, our clients and to the tax industry as a whole.”

A native Tennessean, Haile received his bachelor’s degree and a law degree from Georgetown University. He also holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California and a master’s degree in health economics from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.