Frank J. Thompson, PhD
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
About Professor Thompson
Leadership & Core Faculty
Frank J. Thompson, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Administration Emeritus at Rutgers-Newark and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy. He also serves as co-editor of the Tracking Health Reform section of the Journal of Health Policy, Politics, and Law. Professor Thompson is an expert in issues of health policy and federalism and has participated in multiple funded projects related to this subject. In 2008, Professor Thompson received a Robert Wood Johnson Investigator Award to study the evolution of Medicaid policy during the Clinton, G.W. Bush, and Obama administrations. This research led to several scholarly publications and culminated in a book, Medicaid Politics: Federalism, Policy Durability, and Health Reform (Georgetown University Press). His current research focuses on how the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations have sought to shape the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. This research informed his co-authored book, Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism (Brookings Institution), which received the 2021 Brownlow Award from the National Academy of Public Administration. Prior to joining the Center, Professor Thompson served as a fellow with the U.S. Public Health Service and published extensively on issues of health policy and implementation. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California.