We Remember Andy Hyman

The State Network team mourns the recent passing of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Hyman.  Andy was the father of the State Network, seeing the value in connecting states with the expertise they need to achieve the vision of coverage that drove him every day.

Andy was extremely intelligent, riotously funny, and tremendously dedicated to the work of helping our neighbors to live healthier lives.  His steadfast commitment to, and unbridled enthusiasm for this noble cause drove so much of the work that the State Network has been able to accomplish, and will continue to accomplish.  The goal of health security for all Americans was so important to Andy, and we know that he was ever grateful to everybody involved in the State Network for helping to achieve so much progress over the past few years.

Andy’s successes were driven by his ability to remain focused and undeterred by failure.  He never gave up on the goal of universal coverage, plotting strategy and rallying the troops when things looked dark.  His commitment to the cause is underscored by his continued efforts following the passage of the ACA.  Andy uniquely understood the perils in implementation, and embraced the challenge, helping states to achieve the biggest expansion of health coverage since the 1960s.  Throughout it all, he recognized that successful implementation depended on his friends in the states.

One of the most significant reasons for the success of the State Network has been Andy’s propensity to challenge those around him.  In constantly striving for ways to make our friends and neighbors healthier and life fairer, Andy knew that it would require each of us meeting our full potential, and his persistent ability to tap into that potential has manifested itself in the work that we continue to do.  He made all of the people he worked with better, challenging ideas out of the knowledge that we all could be just a little better.

Since Andy’s passing, we have been comforted by the overwhelming outpouring of support from so many of our friends in the extended State Network family.  These messages, which have come from far and wide—from both state and federal officials as well as other health care experts from across the country—testify to the extraordinarily broad reach of Andy’s passionate work.  We know that Andy’s legacy will continue to endure in our continued efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable, quality health coverage.

We already miss Andy immensely, and we will work to honor him in continuing the efforts to help those who need coverage to achieve their goals of health and prosperity.  Andy’s obituary, with details of a worthy cause very close to his heart, is available here, as well as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President Risa Lavizzo-Mourey’s statement about Andy, the “warrior for a healthier, more equitable America.”