Michael Sparer, JD, PHD

Michael S. Sparer, J.D., Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Professor Sparer studies and writes about the politics of health care, with a particular emphasis on the health insurance and health delivery systems for low-and-middle income populations, both in the United States and globally. His current projects include an evaluation of federal and state efforts to stabilize and revitalize the nation’s public health workforce, an analysis of Medicaid’s role in addressing the social determinants of health, and a book examining the impact of American federalism on the evolution and current status of the American health care system. He is a two-time winner of the Mailman School’s Student Government Association Teacher of the Year Award, the recipient of a 2010 Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, and the winner of the Core Curriculum Teaching Excellence Award. Sparer spent seven years as a litigator for the New York City Law Department, specializing in inter-governmental social welfare litigation. After leaving the practice of law, Sparer obtained a PhD in Political Science from Brandeis University. Sparer is the former editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and the author of Medicaid and the Limits of State Health Reform as well as numerous articles and book chapters.