Erin Lindsey Duffy

Photo of Erin 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.  Her current research focus is consumer financial liability for involuntary out-of-network health care utilization — a phenomenon coined "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. 

Prior to joining RAND, Duffy was a principal statistician in the Department of Medicine Statistics Core at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she contributed to study design, data management, and statistical analysis for numerous observational studies and clinical trials.

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. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California. 

Research Focus

Commentary

  • A medical bill showing balance due, photo by DNY59/Getty Images

    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

  • Patient filling out forms in a doctor's office

    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