Matt McConnell

Matt McConnell is a researcher in Human Rights Watch’s Economic Justice and Rights Division and Global Health Initiative, whose work focuses on economic justice and the right to health. 

In recent years, much of Matt’s research has centered on using data to assess the adequacy of governments’ financial support for public healthcare systems. He has also worked extensively with coalition partners to push for policy reforms to address the United States’ medical debt crisis, investigating regulatory failures that allow ostensibly charitable nonprofit hospitals to operate more like forprofit corporations, as well as legal flaws that render lifesaving medicines unaffordable for many. Previously, Matt was a fellow with Human Rights Watch’s US Program and Business and Human Rights Division, where he reported on federal deregulation that threatened to worsen already dangerous working conditions in the meatpacking industry. 

His research has been published or cited in a range of outlets and journals, including Axios, Health and Human Rights, The Hill, Mother Jones, The Nation, NBC News, The New York Times, The Lancet, Newsweek, USA Today, The Washington Post, and HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. 

Matt holds a juris doctorate from Stanford Law School and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California. He is admitted to practice law in New York State, was formerly a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia, and is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.