Health & Healthcare Policy
Analyzing the financing, institutional structures, and behavioral dimensions of American healthcare, and asking whether the system’s design choices ultimately improve health and share benefits equitably.
Overview
Faculty work spans two connected dimensions of health policy. On the systems side, research examines how health insurance markets are designed and regulated, studying Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance with attention to how coverage decisions, plan design, and reimbursement structures affect access and cost. This connects to questions about how hospitals, providers, and public programs deliver care in practice, and how regulatory and legislative decisions translate into real-world outcomes. On the population side, faculty examine health behaviors and outcomes as phenomena shaped by policy, economics, and social context, studying why people make the health choices they do, how social insurance programs affect long-term wellbeing, and whether the benefits of the healthcare system are equitably distributed.
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NewsUVA Batten hosts congressional staff for health policy retreatA three-day Bipartisan Congressional Staff Health Policy Retreat, organized in partnership with the Commonwealth Fund, was designed to strengthen bipartisan support for evidence-based health policymaking in Congress. -
Faculty In ActionLayton’s research published in multiple journalsUVA Batten associate professor of public policy and economics Tim Layton, an expert on the economics of health insurance markets, has published several research papers in recent months.
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ResearchUVA Batten a Hub for Health Economics ResearchThe health economy is one of the most extensive and complex systems in modern life, impacting people on a deeply personal level. UVA Batten is honored to have three outstanding faculty members whose research expertise is focused on various policy aspects of the field, including Medicaid and Medicare, COVID-related mortality rates, and other topics.
Selected Research
Hamersma, S., Grossman, D., & Tello-Trillo, S. (2026). Under the same umbrella: Public health insurance expansions and the uniformity of insurance for families. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 246, 107546.
Layton, T., Maini, L., & McWilliams, J. M. (2026). Substitutes for Success? Public versus Private Competition in Medicare Advantage. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 40(2), 143–170.
Leblang, D., & Wesselbaum, D. (2026). Loneliness around the world: Patterns, predictors, and well-being implications. European Journal of Epidemiology.
Ruhm, C. J. (2026). Lingering Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Non-COVID-19 Death Rates In The US, 2020–24. Health Affairs, 45(4), 387–394.
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Tim LaytonAssociate Professor of Public Policy and EconomicsLayton’s research focuses on the economics of health insurance markets, with a particular focus on markets and social health insurance programs for low-income households. His research involves a mix of empirical and conceptual work studying how and why health insurance markets often struggle to provide the contracts consumers want at prices they can afford.
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Christopher J. RuhmProfessor of Public Policy and EconomicsRuhm’s recent research has focused on the role of government policies in helping parents with young children balance the competing needs of work and family life, and on examining how various aspects of health are produced – including the growth and sources of drug poisoning deaths in the United States, the rise in obesity and the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health.
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Melanie Anne EgorinProfessor of Practice in Public Policy and Public HealthMelanie Anne Egorin is a professor of practice in public policy and public health at the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Egorin served most recently as assistant secretary for legislation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she was the principal advisor to the HHS secretary and the liaison for members of Congress and their staff across the broad range of issues handled by the department.
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Sebastian Tello TrilloAssociate Professor of Public Policy, Economics, and Public HealthTello Trillo studies health policy in the U.S and Latin America, with a particular focus on understanding how policies affect individuals’ health behaviors and economic outcomes.
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Andrew J. WilsonAssistant Professor of Public Policy and EconomicsAndrew Wilson is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. His research combines tools from economics and Earth science to answer questions related to our management of the global commons and environmental health.
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Derek WuAssistant Professor of Public Policy and EconomicsDerek Wu is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Wu’s research interests lie in labor and public economics, with focusing on poverty and inequality, the effects of government programs, and the economics of education.