This summer I interned at the Committee on the Budget in the US House of Representatives under Chairman Paul Ryan. While at the Budget Committee I worked on a number of policy issues ranging from health to early education. I aided the budget analysts in their background research and prepared memos for relevant briefings in Congress. I was able to attend a number of hearings both within and outside of the Committee and policy roundtables at think tanks such as The Brookings Institute.

My main project this summer involved analyzing the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) patches. For this project, I examined previous bills passed by Congress on the physician fee schedule and the SGR mechanism associated with it. I constructed my own “doc fix” with pay-fors to offset costs associated with circumventing the SGR.

My summer experience in DC has provided me with valuable insight into the underworld of politics and legislative affairs on the Hill. Not only did I feel a sense of accomplishment after completing this internship, but I’ve also started to consider a career in policy after MIT.