Jennifer Tolbert is an Associate Director with the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, a major initiative of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which provides information and analysis on health care coverage and access for low-income populations.  Ms. Tolbert is a leading expert on the health reform law and has helped to spearhead the Foundation’s work on national health reform.  She has developed numerous tools for explaining the law and its provisions to policy makers, the media, and the public and has directed research analyzing the impact of the law on key stakeholders, including states, safety net providers, and low-income populations. 

Previously, Ms. Tolbert served as the Assistant Vice President for Policy at the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, where she directed policy development, analysis, and research on issues relating to safety net hospital financing and operations, including Medicaid, Medicare, immigration, quality of care, cultural competence, and care for the uninsured.  Before that, she worked in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services where she advised the Assistant Secretary on Medicaid and CHIP policy issues and issues related to the health and insurance status of low-income populations.  She has also held positions with the University of Michigan, School of Public Health and the Michigan House of Representatives, where she worked on state health care reform legislation.  Ms. Tolbert holds Masters’ degrees in Public Health and Social Work from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.