Erin L. Duffy, PhD, MPH

Biography

Erin L. Duffy is the author of over 60 peer-reviewed articles, reports, and commentaries, and her research has been published in leading medical and health policy journals. Her work has been cited in publications by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and has been featured in the New York Times, TIME, CBS, NBC, National Public Radio, and other media. Duffy’s research has been funded by Arnold Ventures, Gates Ventures, the National Institute for Health Care Reform, and the California Health Care Foundation. She was recognized as a 2024 STAT Wunderkind and 2025 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award from the Boston Congress of Public Health.

Her research explores cost drivers, market failures, and patients’ financial liability in the American healthcare system. Duffy’s current work explores how uninsured and underinsured patients navigate planning and paying for healthcare services. Her past work measured the prevalence and magnitude of surprise medical bills, and she continues to evaluate the impacts of federal and state policies that ban surprise medical bills. She has also conducted qualitative and quantitative research on health systems’ performance, healthcare provider payment, and socioeconomic and racial disparities in health outcomes.

Duffy earned a PhD in policy analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy, an MPH in biostatistics and epidemiology from Boston University, and a BA from Wellesley College. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the USC Schaeffer Center.