Student Profile: Camille Snyder, EMP Class of 2022

“I’ve been on many sides of health policy throughout my career,” said Camille Snyder, “and I’ve seen not only the unequal access people have to healthcare based on their financial situation but also how their access to healthcare can significantly impact other aspects of their lives.”

Now working in healthcare consulting, Snyder’s hope is to remedy these inequities. “Going into consulting, I wanted to advocate for healthcare participants. I’m passionate about making healthcare affordable, equitable, and accessible for everyone.”

After majoring in philosophy and minoring in applied psychology at DePaul University, Snyder served as a Patient Care and Insurance Manager in Washington D.C. “I helped breast cancer patients prepare for their surgeries, primarily by walking them through the basics of their insurance plans. I was shocked to discover these women, many of whom held PhDs, could not understand how their insurance worked. I realized this system of how we explain healthcare is so convoluted that even these brilliant women don’t understand it.”

Snyder said that realization is what motivated her to eventually pursue healthcare consulting. “If I can help people understand their insurance, that’s a great thing. And I realized I would be able to do this by working directly with employers via health & benefits consulting.” Snyder currently works as a Health and Benefits Senior Consultant for Mercer, an employee healthcare and investment consulting firm. “I help employees understand their health benefits. And I also work to help people understand that companies’ biggest costs are related to healthcare.”

After spending the last three years of her career educating people about healthcare, Snyder is looking to expand her skillset so that she can help companies find more affordable and equitable healthcare solutions—which in turn will benefit employees—and believes policy is the best way for her to achieve that goal. “I’m passionate about knowing where policy in healthcare is going, and I’m especially interested in how it affects the private sector. There is a lot of negative sentiment towards private companies, but a lot of private sector actors are desperate for a solution to this problem. They are desperate to not pay so much money for healthcare because they don’t want to lay off employees just to keep the company afloat. So, we need to make sure that future policy will actually benefit them as well as everyday people.”

Snyder believes that the Harris Evening Master’s Program (EMP) is the best possible place for her to hone her skills and involve herself in the work of an institution that she knows gives back to a wider community. “UChicago shares research with the community because they want to help people. This is the place where I can help a lot of people and do it effectively.”

When asked about applying what she will be learning in the classroom to her daily work, Snyder said, “It will allow me to explain policy to these private sector actors. I’m hoping to provide these companies with hope that someone does have their opinions in mind.”

Snyder sees the core coursework in data analysis and economics as invaluable elements that underpin the Harris EMP curriculum. “Learning data analysis is worthwhile in and of itself. To be able to look at data, understand it, and persuasively convey it is a great skill to have in healthcare and today’s market.”

To any working professional considering pursuing their master’s, Snyder said, “Just apply. A lot of times people might feel intimidated because they would be working and pursuing their master’s, but all the professors at Harris have been incredibly helpful in getting me acclimated to being a student again and successfully integrating into the UChicago community. Everyone wants to help you get to your final destination.”