Newsletter Issue No. 4 | February 2026
Dear colleagues and friends,
We hope the spring semester is off to a great start for everyone! As we settle into the new term, IU-HEC is excited to share updates on a major upcoming event that brings together leading expertise in health economics methods, policy, and practice.
This month’s newsletter highlights our Inaugural Workshop on Economic Evaluation for Medical Decision Making—a landmark two-day event coming to IU Indianapolis this April—and celebrates recent publications by IU-HEC affiliates. Read on for the full details, and mark your calendars!
INAUGURAL WORKSHOP
Economic Evaluation for Medical Decision Making
April 14-15, 2026 – IU Indianapolis • Campus Center
IU-HEC will host a two-day Policy Research Workshop on Economic Evaluation Methods on April 14–15, 2026, led by Dr. Anirban Basu, Stergachis Family Endowed Director of The CHOICE Institute at the University of Washington and a leading scholar in cost-effectiveness analysis and value-based decision-making.
The workshop will cover foundational concepts in economic evaluation, emerging AI applications in health technology assessment, and new methods for addressing disparities in cost-effectiveness research. The event also features a research seminar, 1-on-1 consultations, an “Ask a Health Economist” expert rotation, and a reception. CME credit is available for select sessions.
The event is free and open to all researchers, faculty, and students. Registration details will be shared soon via IU-HEC communications—stay tuned!
We are thrilled to bring this inaugural workshop to the IU-HEC community and look forward to welcoming you in April. Whether you attend the workshop sessions, the research seminar, the expert rotation, or the consultations, this event offers something for everyone invested in rigorous, policy-relevant health economics research.
Recent Affiliate Publications
IU-HEC affiliates continue to produce impactful scholarship at the intersection of health economics and public policy.
We are pleased to highlight the following recent publications:
Medicaid Expansion and Buprenorphine Dispensing in Early vs. Recent Expansion States
JAMA Network Open, 9(2), e2559803, February 2026
Nicole Siegal, Sumedha Gupta, Jennifer Miles, Hillary Samples, Kosali Simon, Matthew C. Aalsma, and Stephen Crystal
This study examines the association of Medicaid expansion with buprenorphine treatment rates using staggered-adoption methods, finding that post-2018 expansions were associated with substantial increases in buprenorphine dispensing, particularly in high-need states.
The Redistributive Effects of Federal Medicaid Outlays Across Counties: Evidence From the ACA
Public Budgeting & Finance, e70013, 2026
Laura Montenovo, Kosali Simon, and Coady Wing
This paper analyzes how federal Medicaid spending under the ACA was redistributed across U.S. counties, providing new evidence on the geographic equity implications of Medicaid expansion.
Direct and Indirect Effects of Vaccines: Evidence from COVID-19
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 18(1), 1–43, 2026
Seth Freedman, Daniel W. Sacks, Kosali Simon, and Coady Wing
This paper estimates both the direct protective effects and indirect spillover effects of COVID-19 vaccines, providing important evidence on vaccination externalities relevant to public health policy.
Share Your News with IU-HEC!
Did you publish a paper? Land a grant? Receive an award? Get appointed to a board? Present at a conference? Survive a revise-and-resubmit? We want to hear about it!
The IU-HEC newsletter is your place to celebrate wins—big and small—with a community that genuinely appreciates the work behind every coefficient, every policy brief, and every hard-won p-value. Whether it’s a freshly accepted manuscript, a new collaboration, a student mentoring milestone, or anything else you’re proud of, we’d love to share it with the network.
Drop us a line anytime—no minimum word count, no formatting requirements, and absolutely no referee reports needed. Just send your updates to IU-HEC and we’ll make sure your accomplishments get the spotlight they deserve.
As always, thank you for your engagement with IU-HEC and for the collaborative spirit that continues to define this community.
Wishing you a productive semester, with robust identification strategies, well-specified models, and strong positive spillovers in all your endeavors!
Warm regards,
Sumedha Gupta, Ph.D.
Director, IU-Health Economics Consortium
Associate Professor of Economics, IU Indianapolis