She worked as Director of Health Insurance Studies and nine years as a Senior Research Associate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Dr. Charles's research focuses on expansions of health insurance and its impact on access to care, and underinsurance among those with coverage. She also specializes in political issues surrounding health care reform at both the state and the national levels. Dr. Charles is also an active member of the California Health Benefits Review Program faculty task force, which analyzes the impacts of proposed health insurance benefit mandates for the California state legislature