Lok Samson, PhD, MHS

Lok Samson, PhD, MHS, is a policy advisor, serving as Medicare policy and research manager at the AARP Public Policy Institute. She conducts research related to Medicare policies, delivery system transformation, and patient experience of care, with a current focus on primary care for older adults.

Dr. Samson joined AARP in 2025 following 12 years in the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. While there, her work involved using Medicare claims data to conduct research on Medicare policies and evaluate Medicare programs on value-based purchasing, quality reporting, physician payment policies, telehealth, and COVID-19 vaccinations. She has also conducted research on patient safety. Previously, she worked at the National Committee for Quality Assurance, developing quality measures and Accreditation programs for health plans and providers.

Samson earned a Doctor of Philosophy in health services research and health care policy and a Master of Health Science in health policy management from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.