Abigail Barker is the faculty lead for data and methods at the at the . Her role includes helping social science and clinical researchers add cost and cost-effectiveness analyses to their work to increase policy relevance, as well as creating data visualizations to allow stakeholders to interactively understand the tradeoffs of various health policy choices. Her own research focuses on econometric modeling and microsimulations on topics relating to health insurance markets, Medicaid, payment policy, and health reform. Her ongoing work for the Rural Policy Research Institute focuses on understanding how markets can be successfully integrated into the health care sector, using the Affordable Care Act and Health Insurance Marketplaces data as well as Medicare Advantage data to inform rural health policy. A newer research area is nutrition and food policy, as these are potential levers that can affect health in a more upstream and potentially cost-effective manner. Abigail Barker Research Associate Professor PhD, University of Minnesota Office Phone: 314-935-3513 Email: arbarker@wustl.edu Download CV Areas of Focus: Economic modeling Food policy Health insurance markets Medicaid Rural health policy In The News Center helps secure Medicaid coverage for doulas in Missouri October 29, 2024 Report Seeks to Transform Missouri Medicaid System January 8, 2021 Labels Can Help Deter Soda Consumption, Study Finds, But Legislating Them In U.S. No Small Feat November 6, 2020 Lower number of people covered leads to higher rural health insurance premiums, study finds December 6, 2019 Featured Publications Assessing the impact of Medicaid expansion on insurance coverage among children with cancer JAMA PediatricsMarch 2020 Health AffairsDecember 2019 The Cumulative Effect of Health Insurance on Health Status Health Services ResearchJuly (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2020