Bethesda, MD, May 31, 2016 — Health policy expert Scott Leitz has been named to the position of Senior Fellow, Health Care at the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago.  As senior fellow, Leitz will have a leadership role in the NORC Health Care department, with particular emphasis on state health care policy.

Leitz is the former CEO of MNsure, the state-based health insurance marketplace serving the state of Minnesota, where he oversaw the enrollment of more than 500,000 Minnesotans in the MNsure program. Leitz focused his efforts on improving the customer experience, enhancing the functionality of the state’s website, and expanding marketing strategies used to promote it. Leitz stepped down from his role at MNsure in 2015, spending several months with the Washington, DC-based Health Care Cost Initiative immediately before joining NORC. 

“Scott Leitz brings 20 years of leadership, expertise, and wisdom in the development and implementation of health policy to NORC at the University of Chicago,” said Michael Davern, executive vice president of research and director of health care research at NORC. “We will benefit greatly from his extraordinary expertise in the design, implementation, and oversight of health reform initiatives.”

Prior to his role at MNsure, Leitz served as assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, where he oversaw the state’s $10 billion Medicaid program. Earlier he served as assistant commissioner for health policy at the Minnesota Department of Health, where he held major responsibility for development and passage of Minnesota’s landmark 2008 health care reform law, which pre-dated passage of the Affordable Care Act. Leitz also served for six years as Minnesota’s state health economist.

He has a master’s degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.