Erin Lindsey Duffy

Adjunct Policy Researcher

Off Site Office

Education

Ph.D. in policy analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School; M.P.H. in biostatistics and epidemiology, Boston University; B.A., Wellesley College

Overview

Erin Duffy is an adjunct policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She is also a research scientist at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California.

Her research explores cost-drivers, market failures, and patients' finanicial liability in the American health care system. Duffy's recent work measures the prevalence and magnitude of surprise medical bills and evaluates the impact of policies that prohibit surprise medical billing. She also conducts qualitative and quantitative research on health system performance, strategies for health care cost containment, provider payment policies, and socioeconomic and racial disparities in health outcomes.

Duffy holds a Ph.D. in policy analysis from Pardee RAND Graduate School, an M.P.H. from Boston University with concentrations in biostatistics and epidemiology, and a B.A. in religion from Wellesley College.

Research Focus

Commentary

Health Care Costs

Addressing Surprise Medical Bills Without Raising the Cost of Health Care
Patients who try to stay within their insurers' networks can be hit with surprise bills when they unknowingly receive care from out-of-network physicians. How much should a physician be paid for providing a service that is critical but rendered without the patient's ready ability to choose an in-network provider?
Apr 1, 2019
The Hill
Health Insurance Mandates

Can a Continuous Coverage Requirement Produce a Healthy Insurance Market?
A continuous coverage requirement is intended to discourage individuals from waiting until they become sick to purchase insurance. Such a requirement works well in theory to maintain a healthy marketplace, but there is little evidence on how well it might work in practice.
Jan 4, 2017
The Hill

Publications

Journal Article
Physician Compensation Arrangements and Financial Performance Incentives in US Health Systems
This study was a cross-sectional mixed-methods analysis of in-depth multimodal data from 31 POs affiliated with 22 purposefully selected health systems in 4 states. Data were analyzed from June 2019 to September 2020.
Feb 8, 2022
Journal Article
The Importance of Understanding and Measuring Health System Structural, Functional, and Clinical Integration
We explore if there are ways to characterize health systems-not already revealed by secondary data-that could provide new insights into differences in health system performance.
Dec 10, 2020
Report
Consolidation by Any Other Name: The Emergence of Clinically Integrated Networks
In this report, the authors offer an initial assessment of clinically integrated networks (CINs), describe how health systems are using CINs strategically to compete in crowded health care markets, and identify why CINs require further study.
Aug 3, 2020
Dissertation
Three Essays In Health Policy and Economics: Surprise Out-of-Network Medical Bills and Out-of-Network Health Care Provider Payment in the United States
Three essays addressing surprise out-of-network medical bills and out-of-network health care provider payment.
Jul 16, 2020
Journal Article
Prevalence And Characteristics Of Surprise Out-Of-Network Bills From Professionals In Ambulatory Surgery Centers
8 percent of episodes at in-network ambulatory surgery centers generated surprise bills, averaging $1,483 in 2017; most bills came from anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists.
Apr 30, 2020
Report
The Price and Spending Impacts of Limits on Payments to Hospitals for Out-of-Network Care
Researchers estimated the effects that four proposed out-of-network payment limits for hospital care would have on negotiated in-network prices and total payments for hospital care.
Mar 12, 2020
Journal Article
Understanding U.S. Health Systems: Using Mixed Methods to Unpack Organizational Complexity
Researchers need qualitative data to understand how health systems actually work and influence clinical practice.
Nov 26, 2019
Journal Article
Influence of Out-of-Network Payment Standards on Insurer-Provider Bargaining: California's Experience
California's experience implementing a policy to address surprise medical billing demonstrates that out-of-network payment standards can influence payer-provider bargaining leverage, affecting prices and network breadth.
Aug 23, 2019
Journal Article
A Clinically Integrated Mhealth App and Practice Model for Collecting Patient-Reported Outcomes Between Visits for Asthma Patients: Implementation and Feasibility
Implementation of a clinically integrated mHealth app and practice model can achieve high patient retention and adherence to guideline-recommended asthma symptom monitoring, while minimally burdening clinicians.
2019
Journal Article
Delivery of Preventive Oral Health Services by Rurality: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Using a multistate sample of Medicaid claims, we examined a child's odds of receiving preventive oral health services in a medical office by county rurality.
2019
Journal Article
Association Between Type of Health Insurance and Children's Oral Health, NHANES 2011–2014
Oral health outcomes were similar for children with public and private health insurance. However, children in low- income families and with less educated parents had greater odds of untreated caries, suggesting that initiatives focused on publicly insured populations may miss other vulnerable children of low socioeconomic status.
Dec 20, 2018
Report
Integrating Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs Purchased Care: Preliminary Feasibility Assessment
An integrated approach to purchasing health care for U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs could have important implications for access, quality, and costs but could face legislative, policy, or contractual challenges.
Nov 26, 2018
Research Brief
Preliminary Feasibility Assessment of DoD-VA Purchased Care Integration
An integrated approach to purchasing health care for U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs could have important implications for access, quality, and costs but could face legislative, policy, or contractual challenges.
Nov 26, 2018
Report
Identification of Alternative Physician Assistant Recertification Models: An Analysis of the Landscape and Evidence Surrounding Approaches to Recertification in the Health Professions
Health professional recertification is meant to demonstrate and foster knowledge and competence. This report assesses recertification requirements for physician assistants, physicians, and advanced practice nurses in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Oct 3, 2018
Journal Article
Impact of Medicaid Policy on the Oral Health of Publicly Insured Children
State policies that support non-dental primary care providers' application of fluoride varnish treatment were associated with improvements in oral health for young children with public insurance.
Aug 21, 2018
Journal Article
Racial Residential Segregation, Socioeconomic Disparities, and the White-Black Survival Gap
Black-white disparities in survival remain wide despite public health efforts to improve life expectancy and initiatives to reduce health disparities.
Mar 28, 2018
Research Brief
Are Private Health Care Providers Ready to Treat Veterans? Evidence from New York State
This brief highlights key findings of a RAND survey of providers in New York State regarding the preparedness of community providers (i.e., not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs) to treat veterans.
Mar 1, 2018
Report
Ready or Not? Assessing the Capacity of New York State Health Care Providers to Meet the Needs of Veterans
This report assessed whether private-sector providers in New York are equipped to offer timely access to high-quality care that addresses veterans' unique needs.
Mar 1, 2018
Journal Article
A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of an Integrated Medication Management Program and Implications for Implementation
Organizational and environmental factors-such as funding mechanisms-were key to the successful implementation and uptake of a Medication Management Therapy program.
Aug 2, 2017
Report
Modeling the Economic Impact of a California Workers' Compensation Formulary
This report estimates the potential impacts of a California Workers' Compensation formulary in terms of changes in prescription drug use and spending and discusses the potential broader impacts of these changes on the California economy.
Jul 17, 2017
Research Brief
Supporting Those Who Served in Massachusetts: Needs, Well-Being, and Available Resources for Veterans
Massachusetts veterans have unmet needs for education, employment, health care, housing, financial, and legal services. A better understanding of these needs can inform investments in services and guide efforts to remedy barriers to access.
Mar 7, 2017
Report
Supporting Veterans in Massachusetts: An Assessment of Needs, Well-Being, and Available Resources
Massachusetts veterans have unmet needs for education, employment, health care, housing, financial, and legal services. A better understanding of these needs can inform investments in services and guide efforts to remedy barriers to access.
Mar 7, 2017