Jay Ludlam is the Deputy Secretary for NC Medicaid and leads the $21 billion North Carolina Medicaid program through Medicaid expansion, the end of the Public Health Emergency & continuous coverage unwinding and the transformation of the fee-for-service to a managed care delivery system for DHHS. He is committed to transforming Medicaid through a person-centered, integrated approach aimed to enhance what is already successful in North Carolina, ensuring the program's sustainability and financial stability.

In his role as Assistant Secretary, Ludlam led the implementation of critical healthcare initiatives, such as the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, the nation’s first comprehensive program to test and evaluate the impact of providing select evidence-based, non-medical interventions related to housing, food, transportation and interpersonal safety and toxic stress to high-needs Medicaid enrollees. The federal government authorized up to $650 million in Medicaid funding for the Pilots over five years. In 2021, NC Medicaid also helped launch the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian (EBCI) Tribal Option a first-in-the-nation Indian Managed Care Entity which provides care coordination for Medicaid-eligible Tribal members to improve their healthcare outcomes.

Before Ludlam joined DHHS in August 2017, he was the Acting Director of the Missouri HealthNet (Medicaid) Division where he led budget and fiscal operations, information services, provider and participant support and Medicaid program administration. Prior to this role, Ludlam was the Missouri HealthNet Deputy Division Director, acting as the executive lead for implementing a statewide Medicaid Managed Care program expansion that affected over 750,000 participants.

Ludlam has managed claims operations for Aetna and WellCare and oversaw Aetna’s compliance function. He served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Unit, recovering more than $3 million through negotiated plea agreements, civil settlements and summary judgments.

Ludlam received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and his Bachelor of Science degree in social psychology from Grinnell College.