Sandeep Wadhwa

Dr. Wadhwa was appointed state Medicaid director and chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing in March 2008. He is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver where he continues to precept in the Seniors Clinic at the University of Colorado Hospital.

Prior to joining the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, Dr. Wadhwa was the vice president of care management services at McKesson Health Solutions. He worked at McKesson for nine years and while there was responsible for its care management services. In this role, he gained extensive experience with Medicaid and Medicare reform and modernization efforts having worked with 10 states on care management programs for fee-for-service clients.

Dr. Wadhwa has been extensively published and interviewed on cost-effectively improving health and functioning of vulnerable populations and persons with chronic illnesses. He has delivered testimony on multiple occasions to the U.S. Congress and worked for the White House in the Office of Policy Development and for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, a medical degree from Cornell University in New York, and a master’s degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in both internal medicine and geriatrics. He has also completed a health services research general internal medicine fellowship.

Practicum Summary

Goal: Develop measurement sets, payment models, and delivery system reforms that optimize the health status of Medicaid beneficiaries.

Sandeep Wadhwa is focusing on how Medicaid policies and programs can contribute to measurably improving the health status of clients by better addressing preventable causes of mortality and morbidity. Since many preventable conditions occur with greater frequency and severity in low-income populations, it is important for Medicaid to move towards greater accountability for maximizing the health of its covered population.