2005 Hansen Award

Sara Rosenbaum, J.D.

Ms. Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., The Harold & Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law & Policy at the George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, DC, was the recipient of the 2005 Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award and Distinguished Lectureship.

During her visit, Professor Rosenbaum met with students, faculty, and local and state leaders to discuss childhood health service policy, Medicaid and current challenges facing the nation’s health care system.

Biographical Information

At George Washington University, Professor Rosenbaum holds appointments in the Schools of Medicine and Health Sciences and Law and she also directs the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program and the Center for Health Services Research and Policy.

Professor Rosenbaum, who received her J.D. from Boston University Law School, has focused her career on access to health care for low income, minority and medically underserved populations. She has played a major role in the design of national health policy in areas such as Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurance and employee health benefits, access to health care for medically underserved persons, maternal and child health, civil rights and health care, and public health. Professor Rosenbaum worked for the White House Domestic Policy Council during the 1993-1994 time period, where she directed the drafting of the Health Security Act for President Clinton and oversaw development of the Vaccines for Children program.

Professor Rosenbaum serves on numerous national organizational boards, advises the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in John B. V Goetz, and has served as an advisor on numerous governmental and private sector health policy initiatives. She is co-author of Law and the American Health Care System (Foundation Press, NY, NY), a widely used health law textbook.

Professor Rosenbaum is a recipient of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator’s Award in Health Policy Research, and her work focused on race discrimination and health policy. She has been named one of America’s 500 most influential health policymakers and has been recognized by the United States Department of Health and Human Services for distinguished national service on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries.

Lecture Videos

Video: Medicaid and 109th Congress

Video: “The Quest for Fairness in Healthcare: A Nation at the Crossroads”