Anna Sommers
Senior Research Analyst

Anna Sommers is a senior research analyst at The Hilltop Institute. She is responsible for directing the analysis and evaluation of health services utilization in Medicaid programs and evaluating state health insurance reform initiatives. Her current research interests include access to care and insurance for vulnerable populations; state health insurance reform initiatives; and oral health policy. Dr. Sommers is currently the principal investigator of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation SHARE evaluation that seeks to identify factors that have influenced employer participation in New Mexico's State Coverage Insurance (SCI) program. She also organized the program for Hilltop's fifth symposium, "Developing Comprehensive Oral Health Policy: Challenges and Opportunities for State Health Policy Makers."

Prior to her role at The Hilltop Institute, Dr. Sommers was a research associate at The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she conducted quantitative research on a diverse array of projects evaluating public health insurance programs with a focus on maternal and child health. Recent studies include an analysis of substitution in SCHIP as part of a congressionally mandated evaluation of SCHIP in ten states, and an analysis of eligibility dynamics among children eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP. She has recently worked with a county-based coalition in Los Angeles County to develop quality and process monitoring indicators for First 5 LA, the largest county-based public insurance program for children who do not qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. In addition, Dr. Sommers has conducted research on the aged and people with disabilities, including cost and use analyses of participants in a Money Follows the Person pre-cursor initiative in Texas, analysis of dual eligible utilization, and analysis of expenditures by Medicaid recipients using long-term care services. She also has expertise in survey design and quasi-experimental methodology.

Dr. Sommers is a published author and co-author in the health policy community. Her most recent works include "Eligibility Dynamics Among Children Eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP: Implications for SCHIP Reauthorization," published in Health Affairs, and "Access to Health Insurance, Barriers to Care, and Service Use Among Adults with Disabilities," published in Inquiry. Dr. Sommers currently serves as a member of the advisory board to the Maryland Adventist HealthCare System's Center on Health Disparities, established in 2007.

Dr. Sommers obtained her Ph.D. and M.S. in health services research, policy, and administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She also holds an M.A. in Public Policy from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.