Nupur Ballal (’27)

This summer I worked at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Division conducting health economics research on Medicare reform. The US population continues to live longer and longer, and with healthcare comprising over 17% of the US GDP given the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, a pressing question emerges: how do we increase the quality and efficiency of a system that is already struggling to remain solvent for our 65+ population? I worked on two projects aimed at tackling this question in different ways.

First, we focused on Medicare overpayment to private Medicare Advantage plans, which cover over half of the 68 million Medicare enrollees; this is a particularly difficult issue given how obfuscated the overpayment is in our complex payment system. I built the foundations for a policy simulation designed to recalculate the benchmarks the federal government uses to pay private plans in order to reduce excess spending. My second project was further developing Urban’s existing Medicare microsimulation model (MCARE-SIM) in order to model how large-scale reforms to the Medicare system, such as increased cost-sharing, lower out-of-pocket costs, and added dental and vision benefits, could impact enrollment and spending in 2025. This work is ongoing and these critical issues will form the basis of healthcare reform in the coming decade. 

Beyond the technical work, I also spoke with dozens of economics researchers and physicians, which gave me tremendous insights into how to shape my future career as a physician-leader.