She holds a PhD in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research interests include access and cost of health insurance, consumer awareness and use of information in decision making, competition in health care markets, and efficiency and quality of care delivery. For the academic year 2008–2009, she served as senior economist on health issues on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in Washington, DC. In that role, she actively participated in the development of the Obama administration’s policy positions relating to health care reform.