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Dr. Joseph Benitez is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy.  

Before arriving at the University of Kentucky, he was on the University of Louisville faculty. His research focuses primarily on the impact of public policy changes on access to care, medically underserved populations and the role of the health care safety net, and the Medicaid program.

He has been published is Health Affairs, Health Services Research, and Medical Care, and featured on NPR and U.S. News & World Report.  

In 2016, he was funded by Academy Health’s New Investigator Small Grant Program to study the implications of Medicaid expansion for safety net hospital financing. More recently, Dr. Benitez received funding from the UK Schnatter Institute to study hospital utilization patterns among Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion population. 

Dr. Benitez's Website

External Link

Dr. Benitez on Scholars@UK

External Link

Education

  • PhD, Health Policy and Administration
    • University of Illinois, Chicago
  • Master of Public Health
    • University of Kentucky
  • Bachelor of Science, Psychology
    • University of Georgia

Research Interests

  • Health economics
  • Applied econometrics
  • Access to care
  • Medically underserved areas/populations
  • Medicaid program design

In the News

From mentee to mentor: CPH alum now shares knowledge as assistant professor

A first-generation college graduate and College of Public Health alum, Dr. Joseph Benitez realizes the role mentors have played in his life.