J. Thomas Wickham, Jr. is a Government Relations Director in the Albany, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.
Prior to joining Jackson Lewis P.C., Mr. Wickham built a compendium of more than 22 years of experience in the New York State Senate, serving most recently as Director of the Senate Council on Health Care Financing. He has an extensive knowledge base regarding the state’s complex healthcare system, its extensive regulatory framework, and statewide healthcare infrastructure. Mr. Wickham has developed working relationships with a broad range of key executive and agency personnel and has many years of experience working with stakeholders from the state’s various healthcare sectors in developing and analyzing policy proposals.
Mr. Wickham has led the Senate Majority Health Team during budget negotiations, and in negotiating and drafting policy initiatives that have had lasting impacts on the state’s various health and long term care sectors. He was also responsible for ensuring the chairman of the Senate Health Committee and the Conference were not only apprised of state-level policy and fiscal issues, but also of federal actions and proposals related to health care policy, including changes to publicly funded programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Child Health Plus, and the Essential Plan. He and the health team were also charged with apprising principals of the impact those actions or proposals would have on the state’s financial plan and the state’s overall healthcare infrastructure.
Mr. Wickham’s experience in the Senate includes working as the legislative director in a member’s office and for a number of years as a health policy analyst. In those roles, he gained experience in virtually all aspects of the legislative process, as well as in a wide range of health, long term care, and mental hygiene policy issues.