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Niklas Kleinworth is a policy professional who is specifically focused on reforms to the American healthcare system. He is also an alumnus of the Young Voices Contributor Program in the Fall 2024 cohort.
Niklas Kleinworth Impact Interview:
You’ve worked in the public policy space for several years now, most recently with Paragon Health Institute. How has your time in the Contributor Program impacted your career trajectory?
My time as a contributor for Young Voices is definitively one of the most important experiences I’ve had in my career. Before then, I had only one published article and virtually no media experience. I had some practice crafting op-eds for the blog at the think tank where I worked, but I needed coaching, more diverse opportunities, and more practice.
Being a contributor at Young Voices taught me how to build my personal brand and effectively communicate difficult-to-explain ideas. I gained hands-on experience with radio and podcast interviews, and I was able to build my résumé by placing my work in respected media outlets.
Now at Paragon, I am grateful for this experience. I speak with reporters, radio hosts, and podcasters more than ever before. If I had come into this role without the valuable coaching I received from Young Voices, I would be learning these lessons for the first time without the same roadmap for success.
What made you interested in working on free market healthcare issues? And what would you say is the biggest thing people should better understand about them? What’s something that is a big misconception about an admittedly complex topic?
I grew up in a household grounded in traditional conservative values. Being from Idaho, my family and neighbors taught me about the importance of independence and the perils an overgrown government can inflict on our communities, our prosperity, and our liberties. I originally planned to go to medical school to become a family physician. But during my final year of college, my path shifted to public policy as the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic provided a tangible example of many of the lessons I learned growing up.
Healthcare is one of the most challenging policy areas because it is so vast in scope and emotionally charged. Everyone has something to say about healthcare policy—often because of negative experiences with the system. People are quick to blame hospitals, drug companies, or insurance companies. What is often overlooked, however, is that much of what is wrong in American healthcare is driven by perverse incentives created by corporate and individual welfare, excessive regulation, and government subsidization.
Profits, competition, and tradeoffs are essential features of a healthy market that empowers patients and stems costs while promoting innovation. Government-created incentives throw these forces off balance to the detriment of patients and taxpayers alike.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
I am especially proud of my op-ed in Reason Magazine, which described how bureaucratic overreach not only increased welfare spending but ultimately harmed the very people the policy was intended to help. The piece detailed how the Idaho Child Care Program, a program designed to provide free childcare for low-income people, went nearly $16 million over budget in 2024 after the Department of Health and Welfare dramatically expanded the program.
The article helped bring attention to this critical issue and ultimately contributed to the passage of legislation that added more oversight to Idaho’s welfare programs—a major win for taxpayers.
You recently started a new role as State Health Reform Initiative Director. What are you most excited about in this role?
States are at the cutting edge of policymaking, and healthcare policy is no exception. There are only a handful of experts on free-market healthcare policy in the nation. With Paragon establishing itself as an authority on healthcare policy at the federal level, I am excited to bring that expertise to states that are hungry for free-market reforms in an increasingly troubled American healthcare system.
What advice would you give to young health policy professions with a classically liberal bent on breaking into this space?
Take the opportunities presented to you. Many people hesitate to take on new challenges or to say what they truly think. It is true that it feels like you put yourself in a vulnerable position to put your ideas into the public debate. But criticism and debate force you to refine your thinking and better understand why you believe what you believe. Over time, that process becomes a source of strength as you gain experience and sharpen your message.
Thankfully, you don’t have to do this alone. Being part of a community like Young Voices allows you to engage in the debate as part of a community. That kind of support is a huge asset—one that many people do not fully appreciate until they are on the inside.
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