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Sara Rosenbaum, J.D.

Sara Rosenbaum, J.D.

Sara Rosenbaum is Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy. She also holds an appointment as Professor of Health Care Sciences at GW's School of Medicine and Law.

As a scholar, an educator and a national leader, Professor Rosenbaum has dedicated her career to promoting more equitable and effective health care policies in this country, particularly in the areas of Medicaid and Medicare, managed care, employee health benefits, maternal and child health, community health centers and civil rights in health care systems. Her commitment to strengthening access to care for low-income, minority and medically underserved populations has had a transforming effect on the lives of many Americans, particularly children. In addition to her responsibilities as Chair of the Department of Health Policy, which she founded and developed, Professor Rosenbaum is Director of the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program. As a mentor, she is drawn to young people interested in improving health care for the poor. "I am always on the lookout for students who have a keen desire not only to learn health policy, but to apply their knowledge to systemic problems that disproportionately affect low-income, medically underserved, or disabled children and adults," she says. Professor Rosenbaum has been named one of the nation's 500 most influential health policy makers. Among other honors, she has received the Investigator Award in Health Policy from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and has been recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services for distinguished national service on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries. As a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Clinton, she directed the drafting of the Health Security Act and oversaw the development of the Vaccines for Children program.

Education

Bachelor of Arts, Wesleyan University, 1973 Juris Doctor, Boston University School of Law, 1976

Teaching

PubH 283-Health Services Law, Department of Health Policy PubH 292-Life, Death and Human Subjects, Department of Health Policy Health Care Law, Department of Health Policy (at GW Law School) Independent Study - Public Health Leadership (doctoral)

Research

Professor Rosenbaum's research focuses on the many ways in which the law intersects with the nation's health care and public health systems, with a particular emphasis on civil rights, quality of care, insurance coverage and managed care. She is co-author of Law and the American Health Care System, a widely used health law textbook.

Community Service

Public officials and health care safety net organizations regularly seek Professor Rosenbaum's expertise. She serves on the board of numerous national organizations, including AcademyHealth, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the Committee on Child Health Research of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in an advisory capacity to the March of Dimes and the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Disabilities, among many others. Professor Rosenbaum is currently advising the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in John B. v Goetz, a class action suit that challenges the adequacy of children's health services in Tennessee.

Expertise

  • Health Disparities
  • Health Insurance
  • Health Law
  • Health Law
  • Health Reform

Departments

Institutes & Centers

Selected Publications