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NORC at the University Chicago

Erin Ewald

Pronouns: She/Her

Principal Research Scientist
Health Care Evaluation
Applied Health Economics Program Area
Erin is a quantitative researcher and project director who studies the impact of Medicare and Medicaid transformation.

Erin is a principal research scientist with extensive experience in designing, implementing, and leading federal and state-level evaluations of Medicare and Medicaid payment and delivery system reform initiatives. Her work at NORC focuses on the impact of such initiatives on spending, health outcomes, and quality of care.

At NORC, Erin leads evaluation teams studying innovative models of care. She is the project director for the evaluation of Rhode Island’s 1115 Medicaid Demonstration, data manager for NORC’s evaluation of the ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model, and the quantitative lead for the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model and an evaluation of HRSA’s Maternal Health portfolio. She is also a senior advisor for NORC’s Enhancing HRSA Data Analysis and Evidence Building Capacity contract. In these roles, she directs NORC’s data strategy, designs evaluation approaches, and establishes quality control for data products. Over her time at NORC, she has developed and implemented processes to automate data analysis and reporting for complex evaluations with the goals of increasing efficiency and reproducibility.

Erin’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Health Affairs, Medical Care, LGBT Health, Transgender Health. Prior to joining NORC, Erin completed her graduate research studies investigating the relationship between micronutrient and inflammatory biomarkers and CD4 T cell recovery after initiation of antiretroviral therapy for HIV patients in a multinational randomized trial.

Project Contributions

Evaluating Rhode Island’s Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration

Evaluation of programs implemented under Rhode Island’s Medicaid section 1115 demonstration

Client:

Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Evaluation of the ACO REACH Model

Evaluating the ACO REACH model that is transitioning Medicare from fee-for-service to value-based care

Client:

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Evaluation of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model

Assessing efforts to improve the financial health of rural hospitals and maintain access to care

Client:

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Graduate Schools’ Response to COVID-19

A rapid survey details how STEM schools coped with pandemic disruptions

Client:

National Science Foundation

Vermont Global Commitment to Health Demonstration Evaluation

Understanding the impact of Vermont’s Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver

Client:

Agency of Human Services, State of Vermont

Publications

Research Library & Findings