Ruth Kennedy

With over 40 years of experience in the healthcare industry, SSG's Health Policy Director, Ruth Kennedy, is nationally recognized for her expertise in streamlining and simplifying business processes, maximizing retention, culture change, healthcare delivery system reform and healthcare administration.

Before joining our team, she led Louisiana’s transformational initiative to transition from fee-for-service to a managed care delivery system. She then worked in multiple positions within the Louisiana state government health services administration as Medicaid Director (2012-2016), Medicaid Deputy Director (1999-2012) and LaCHIP Director and Medicaid Expansion Project Director.

Her accomplishments include planning, implementing and managing ongoing operations for LaCHIP and children’s Medicaid, which resulted in lowering Louisiana’s rate of uninsured children from 3rd highest of any state to well below the national average, which is under 5%. During the final year of her career with the state, she worked exclusively on directing Louisiana’s highly successful and innovation implementation of Medicaid Expansion, which launched July 2016 with more than 375,000 adults successfully enrolled in the first year.

A graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, Ruth resides in Hammond, Louisiana.