Lyndsey Cavender

Lyndsey Cavender’s work focuses on Medicaid and state health policy. She has expertise in Medicaid and CHIP eligibility requirements and enrollment processes in addition to addressing the social determinants of health.

Cavender works on the Medicaid and CHIP Learning Collaboratives; in that role, she assists the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and states as they prepare to unwind eligibility and enrollment flexibilities implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Before joining Mathematica, she developed a project that used human-centered design principles to transform the Medicaid application and enrollment process in Missouri. She also led an initiative that identified opportunities and helped build an evidence base for addressing the social determinants of health for pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid.

Cavender previously worked at the Missouri Foundation for Health, conducting research and developing policy recommendations for state lawmakers. She was also the manager of public policy at a nonprofit that addressed food insecurity for Medicaid participants. Cavender holds an M.P.H. in health policy analysis from Washington University in St. Louis.