Bridging Education & Health Care

Led by Mark D. Birdwhistell

Mark D. Birdwhistell is the Senior Vice President for Health and Public Policy for the University of Kentucky. He is a health care policy expert and administrator with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Mark Birdwhistell has had a significant and influential career, spanning over 40 years, in Medicaid policy, particularly in the state of Kentucky.

He is best known for his work as Kentucky’s Secretary of Health and Family Services under Governor Ernie Fletcher, where he led major Medicaid reform initiatives.
Before and after his role in state government, Birdwhistell has held senior leadership positions at UK HealthCare, where he continued to engage in health care policy and strategy. He has also contributed to policy discussions at the national level, particularly in the areas of Medicaid payment and coverage as well as Medicaid innovation, health care delivery transformation and integrated care models.

In his current role, he leads the Office of Government Relations and Public Policy which manages all the government relations functions for the University of Kentucky.

Birdwhistell earned his Master of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky Martin School for Public Policy and an undergraduate degree from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky.