I am a scholar-practitioner with almost 35 years of work in health policy research, evaluation, development, and implementation. In my career, I have served in most roles of the public policymaking process, including academic researcher directing CIHR grants, senior researcher at think tanks leading evaluations of public health insurance programs, state program executive responsible for running means-tested public health insurance programs on a day-to-day basis, and federal policymaker responsible for designing means-tested public health insurance programs.
My expertise is comparative health systems, particularly comparing Canadian and American public health insurance programs and initiatives. I came to Canada on a 2015-16 Fulbright Fellowship to perform research comparing provincial and state approaches to population health monitoring. Since 2016, I have been a Research Associate with the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies at the University of Toronto, which is a collaborative partnership of interested researchers, research organizations, governments, and health organizations promoting evidence-informed health system policy decision-making.
As someone who has served in senior positions in public health insurance programs in the United States at both the federal and state level and has many years experience as an academic researcher, I am UNIQUELY qualified to write about the real-world impacts of Canada's adoption of an American-style approach (meaning a piecemeal, means-tested approach) to adding coverage of health services.
Experience
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–presentAssociate Professor, University of Regina
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2015–2016Visiting Fulbright Scholar, University of Regina
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2012–2015Principal Research Scientist, NORC at the University of Chicago
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2009–2012Senior Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research
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2007–2009Deputy Medicaid Director, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
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2000–2007Technical Director, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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1998–2000Special Assistant, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Education
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2018University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Ph.D., Public Policy (Health Policy)
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1998Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration)
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1989Yale University, B.A., Political Science
Publications
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2023The impact of provincial proof of vaccination policies on age-specific first-dose uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada. , Health Affairs
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2023Addressing the ethical problem of underdiagnosis in the post-pandemic Canadian healthcare system. , Healthcare Management Forum
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2023Emerging lessons from health systems policies and reforms during COVID-19., Health Reform Observer – Observatoire des Réformes de Santé
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2023Implementation of a pharmacy clinical instructor model to facilitate experiential learning within Saskatchewan’s entry-to-practice Doctor of Pharmacy program. , Health Reform Observer – Observatoire des Réformes de Santé
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2023Comparison of COVID-19 vaccination rollout approaches across Canada: Case studies of four diverse provinces. , Health Reform Observer – Observatoire des Réformes de Santé
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2022COVID-19 vaccination and public health countermeasures on variants of concern in Canada: Evidence from a spatial hierarchical cluster analysis., JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
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2021Understanding the mechanisms of administration burden through a within-case study of Medicaid expansion implementation. , Journal of Behavioral Public Administration
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2016The U.S. Healthcare system: Complex and unequal. , Global Social Welfare
Grants and Contracts
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2023Multilevel estimation of the relative impacts of social determinants on income-related health inequalities in urban Canada: Toward a new Canadian Social Determinants Urban Laboratory.
- Role:
- Collaborator
- Funding Source:
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
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2023Coronavirus variants rapid response network: CoVaRR-Net-Extension
- Role:
- Co-Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
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2021Benzodiazepines: Canada’s Dependence Problem
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Saskatchewan Centre for Patient Oriented Research
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2021Coronavirus variants rapid response network: CoVaRR-Net
- Role:
- Co-Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
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2021Behavioral attributes and readiness for COVID-19 vaccination among the University of Saskatchewan students’ community
- Role:
- Collaborator
- Funding Source:
- University of Saskatchewan
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2020Engineering and evaluating a patient-oriented home care ordering tool to enhance aging in place during the COVID era
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation
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2020Maximizing Saskatchewan Breast Cancer Screening Program rates through patient-partnered research
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation
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2020Sharing key lessons from the local public health response to the first wave of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan
- Role:
- Co-Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation
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2015Population health monitoring: Lessons for provinces and states from Saskatchewan
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Fulbright Commission
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2010Assessing the impact of using modified adjusted gross income to determine eligibility for state medical assistance in 2014
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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2008Evaluating the success of Maryland's Kids First Act outreach at identifying and enrolling uninsured eligible children in Medicaid or SCHIP
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Professional Memberships
- Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR)
- Saskatchewan Population Health Evaluation and Research Unit (SPHERU)
- Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR)
- Fulbright Canada Alumni Advisory Board
- Article Feed
- ORCID
- Joined
