Laura Barrie Smith, Ph.D.

Laura Barrie Smith is a senior research associate in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She uses quasi-experimental research designs paired with large datasets, such as electronic health records and health insurance claims, to study the impacts of health care policies on access to health care. Her current work uses Medicaid claims data from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) to study health equity in Medicaid, with a particular focus on children and pregnant/postpartum populations, and evaluates the effects of integrated care plans for individuals dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Other recent and ongoing work examines access to telehealth, transportation and access to care, extreme climate events and acute health care use, and health information technology incentive programs in Medicaid.

Before joining Urban, Smith worked at the Lewin Group, where she evaluated a bundled payments initiative in Medicare. Smith holds a B.A. in mathematics from St. Olaf College and a Ph.D. in health services research, with an emphasis in health economics, from the University of Minnesota.