Skip to main content
NORC at the University Chicago

Susan Schechter

Senior Fellow
Health Care Programs
Susan has specialized expertise in managing large scale projects and achieving measurable improvements.

Susan joined NORC after 30 years at various federal agencies, bringing her broad expertise and deep knowledge of project management, survey research, and statistical policy. 

Susan is a senior advisor to NORC flagship projects including AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS) Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). Susan is adept at transitioning and managing large scale projects, establishing efficient staffing models, examining existing processes, and bringing innovation to the forefront. 

Susan’s experience includes managing large data collection projects as well as conducting qualitative research. For large scale surveys, she established efficient field procedures and oversaw timely data processing, editing and delivery. She also directed systems development and testing and led FISMA compliance activities to ensure data security and obtain FISMA accreditations. 

During her tenure in the federal sector, she served as the chief of the American Community Survey (ACS) Office at the U.S. Census Bureau, overseeing field operations for the nation's largest federal household survey. At the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Susan served as the principal reviewer for information collections for the Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. She worked directly with federal statistical agencies to implement consistent measures across large-scale national surveys. Susan also worked at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) where she managed research to improve data collection methods.

Susan served for many years on the OMB Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology and is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association. 

Project Contributions

Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS)

The most comprehensive source of data on Medicare spending and the evolving needs of beneficiaries

Client:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Publications

Research Library & Findings