Betsy McCaughey

Dr. Betsy McCaughey is a constitutional scholar, health policy expert, and former lieutenant governor of New York State whose career spans academia, public service, and political commentary. McCaughey holds a bachelor's degree in history from Vassar College and a doctorate in U.S. constitutional history from Columbia University. She received Columbia's Bancroft Dissertation Award in American History, and her dissertation was published by Columbia University Press as "From Loyalist to Founding Father: The Political Odyssey of William Samuel Johnson." McCaughey has taught at Vassar College and Columbia University, and has produced studies at the Manhattan Institute and the Hudson Institute.

McCaughey gained national attention through her analysis of healthcare legislation. Her analysis of the Clinton health plan in The New Republic received a National Magazine Award for public policy. She expanded her work into a cover story titled "No Exit" in The New Republic, which influenced the national debate over healthcare reform. During George Pataki's campaign for New York governor, McCaughey was selected as his running mate and served as lieutenant governor. She was tasked with education policy and reducing New York's Medicaid budget, focusing on health issues and developing bills that served as models for legislation in multiple states and in Congress.

After her time in office, McCaughey focused on patient advocacy. She founded the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID), a nationwide educational campaign to stop hospital-acquired infections, and serves as its chairman. RID has contributed to legislation in 34 states and Washington, D.C., requiring public reporting of infection rates. McCaughey's research on infection prevention has been featured on Good Morning America, the CBS Morning Show, ABC's 20/20, and other national programs.

As an author and commentator, McCaughey has contributed to public discourse on healthcare and policy. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Beating Obamacare" and its sequel, "Beating Obamacare 2014." Her publication "The Next Pandemic" was released by Encounter Books. McCaughey has written more than 100 scholarly and popular articles on health policy, infection, medical innovation, the economics of aging, and Medicare, with work appearing in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Forbes Magazine, Los Angeles Times, U.S. News & World Report, and other national publications. She serves as a conservative host on Newsmax and as a columnist for the New York Post. McCaughey has also served as an economic adviser to a presidential campaign and has announced a campaign for governor of Connecticut, continuing her involvement in health policy, public advocacy, and political leadership.