Jennifer Strohecker named as the state’s new Medicaid Director
Jan 28, 2022, 6:36 PM | Updated: 6:39 pm

FILE: Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at the PBS Utah Governor’s Monthly News Conference at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Gov. Cox served as a substitute teacher in the Granite School District on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced Friday the appointment of Jennifer Strohecker as the state’s new Medicaid Director.
The appointment must be approved by the Utah Senate.
“I’m very pleased to have Jennifer take on this new role,” Gov. Cox said in a press release. “Her success in directing health care initiatives and fostering productive relationships with stakeholders will serve Utahns well. Among her many efforts, her work to help reduce use of prescription opioids by Medicaid members has been especially impactful. Her expertise with the Medicaid program will also be helpful as we establish the Utah Sustainable Health Collaborative that is focused on reducing health care costs and improving health outcomes for Utahns.”
Strohecker has been serving as the director of the Bureau of Healthcare Policy and Authorization and the Medicaid pharmacy director since 2018. In that role, Strohecker developed and implemented medical and pharmacy policy.
Previously, Strohecker has served as director of corporate pharmacy clinical operations for Molina Healthcare. In her role there, she worked with stakeholders, while leading clinical initiatives that sought better healthcare outcomes for Medicaid and Medicare patients.
Additionally, she has been an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Roseman University College of Pharmacy.
During her career, Strohecker also served as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist at Intermountain Medical Center and a clinical pharmacist team lead at Primary Children’s Medical Center.
She received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. Additionally, she earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Florida.
As a mother of three, Strohecker enjoys being outdoors with her family.
Read more:
- Advocacy group claims an ’emergency’ shortage of home health workers
- Investigators talk about “moneygrubbers” in elderly Medicare fraud
- Governor Spencer Cox says decision to vaccinate should be left up to businesses