Kelsey Chalmers, Ph.D., and Eva Stahl, Ph.D., have joined the latest phase of the Advancing Trust: A Focus on Medical Debt initiative as Scholars in Residence.
Dr. Chalmers is the Director of Research, Data Science at the Lown Institute, an independent think tank advocating bold ideas for a just and caring system for health. She has contributed to discussions on the role of artificial intelligence in health care, co-authoring a viewpoint in JAMA Internal Medicine exploring how hospitals’ use of AI tools can influence medical debt. She has also led the development of a national data set on hospital billing and collection practices. Additionally, she contributed to the development and analysis of the Lown Institute Hospital Index, the first ranking to evaluate hospitals on their social responsibility – assessing metrics of health equity and value of care alongside traditional patient outcomes. Prior to joining the Lown Institute in 2020, Dr. Chalmers worked as a health policy researcher at the University of Sydney, Australia, where she also received her Ph.D. in public health with a focus on measuring overuse of medical care. She graduated from the University of Queensland with a degree in Mathematics and Statistics.
“The impact of medical debt extends far beyond financial strain, affecting patients and their families' mental and physical wellbeing. Health systems and regulators need evidence-based solutions and practices to mitigate these harms and help rebuild trust in the system. I'm eager to work with the AcademyHealth team and other stakeholders to take on this challenge.” – Dr. Chalmers
Dr. Stahl is the Vice President of Public Policy and Program Management at Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that strengthens communities by erasing financially burdensome medical debt. She leads the development and implementation of Undue Medical Debt’s policy work and programming, including beneficiary insights, community engagement, and government initiatives. Dr. Stahl works closely with Undue Medical Debt’s staff to ensure that beneficiaries’ voices and experiences are centered when developing solutions to address the medical debt crisis. Before joining Undue Medical Debt, she was a leader in the health advocacy community for over a decade, collaborating with national coalition partners to advance health care affordability priorities. Dr. Stahl also coordinated efforts to support health advocates and community partners advancing a health equity agenda that addresses social determinants of health, including economic security. She holds a Ph.D. in social policy from Brandeis University and a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.
“I’m honored to be bringing my insight to this essential project with AcademyHealth and ABIM. My team at Undue and I are privileged to interface with clinicians like doctors and nurses, along with hospital administrators, health advocates and our constituents, patients who everyday must make impossible decisions between accessing care and/or providing for themselves and their families. These diverse voices will inform my contribution to this initiative, which builds nicely on our own research into patient/clinician trust. Only in collaboration can we create effective policy change.” – Dr. Stahl
As Scholars in Residence, Drs. Chalmers and Stahl will play a vital role in shaping the direction of our work on medical debt policies and practices. Their contributions will include:
- providing strategic guidance on the project and helping to elevate awareness of medical debt’s impact on patients and clinicians;
- advising on and contributing to a literature review examining hospital medical debt policies, their prevalence, and their broader implications;
- conducting key informant interviews with health system stakeholders to validate findings, address research gaps, and identify priorities for further exploration; and
- supporting the dissemination of project insights to external audiences.
We look forward to learning from their expertise and leadership and to the meaningful contributions they will make to the initiative.