About

A health policy leader and strategic operator.

Three panelists sit in white chairs on stage at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. Kody Kinsley, the center speaker in a gray suit and red tie, gestures as he talks.

Secretary Kody Kinsley is a policy strategist and operator focused on ideas that work in practice. He starts with systems, ends with people and pushes for reforms that widen access and align incentives so care is easier to get and afford.

As North Carolina’s secretary of Health and Human Services, Kinsley advanced Medicaid expansion, access to mental health care and rural health care. He previously served on the federal level in both the Obama and Trump administrations, as assistant secretary for management at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, experience that informs his execution-first, bipartisan approach.

Transforming health in North Carolina 

While secretary, Kinsley helped steer major initiatives that required tight execution and sustained collaboration with leaders across government. He worked across the aisle to build durable support for bipartisan health reforms that strengthened access, reduced barriers and improved care delivery.

During his tenure, Kinsley:

  • Played a leading role in driving Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, helping open the door to coverage for more than 600,000 residents.

  • Worked with community and improved technology and operations to enroll eligible residents at more than twice the average pace.

  • Secured one of the largest behavioral health investments in state history — $835 million — and major policy reforms to expand access to mental health and substance use services.

  • Implemented North Carolina’s groundbreaking Healthy Opportunities Pilots, the nation’s first large-scale experiment proving that paying for nonmedical health needs, like food and housing, improves health and lowers cost. 

  • Partnered with all the state’s hospitals to provide $4 billion in medical debt relief for 2 million North Carolinians.

For a complete look at Kinsley’s accomplishments as secretary, read this summary of his tenure created by the department.

Consulting, speaking and media

Today, through his consulting practice, Kinsley partners with national organizations to deliver lasting change by bringing leaders together, setting bold policy agendas and charting practical, nonpartisan paths from vision to action. He advises private companies on growth strategy, helps them navigate complex regulations and builds better products that improve health. Kinsley also regularly speaks on national stages and engages the media to shape conversations on bipartisan collaboration, health and policy — with a steady focus on service and impact.

Photo credit: Milken Institute, used with permission.