Population Health Sciences, Sanford School of Public Policy, and School of Medicine will co-present "How History, Race, and Federalism has Affected Medicaid’s Program Design with a Focus on North Carolina" on October 28 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

In this research seminar, Emma Sandoe will examine:

• The context of Medicaid's origins, the development of the program, and the political and social factors that have influenced how the program currently runs.
• How federalism has shaped the Medicaid program, how it drives program innovation and development, and whether federalism is the appropriate vehicle for policy development.
• How North Carolina Medicaid is focusing efforts on whole-person health and health equity, how that has changed the program operations, and what challenges remain.

About Our Speaker

Emma Sandoe, PhD, MPH, is the Associate Director of Strategy and Planning at North Carolina Medicaid and Instructor at Duke University. She focuses on Medicaid eligibility and enrollment, long-term services and supports, and other issues for Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries. Dr. Sandoe spent six years in Washington, DC, working on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has served as the spokesperson for Medicaid and HealthCare.gov at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and has worked on ACA coordination at the Department of Health and Human Services Budget Office. During the passage of the ACA, she worked at the Center for American Progress and on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. She earned her PhD in Health Policy with a concentration in political analysis from Harvard University, her Master's in Public Health from George Washington University, and undergraduate degrees from the University of California, San Diego.