I am an Assistant Professor in the University of Kentucky's Martin School of Public Policy and Administration.  I was awarded a PhD in Health Policy from the University of Illinois-Chicago. I am a health economist and health services researcher interested in the role of public policy and health care reform on addressing needs of the medically underserved. I study Medicaid policy and Medicaid program design with a special interest in the role of Medicaid as a safety net program and understanding the policy inputs that influence Medicaid performance. 

I have courtesy appointments in the University of Kentucky's Department of Economics within the Gatton College of Business and Economics, and I am a faculty affiliate in the Commonwealth Institute of Black Studies, the Center for Poverty Research, the Center for Health,  Engagement, and Transformation, and the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits. 

From 2022-2023 I was a nonresidential fellow at KFF working with the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured team, and I am an invited researcher with J-PAL's US Healthcare Delivery Initiative. 

Email: joseph[dot]benitez[at]uky[dot]edu