Atul Gupta

Atul Gupta serves as Assistant Professor of Health Care Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, holding the Dorinda and Mark Winkelman Distinguished Faculty Scholar title. Since joining Wharton in 2017, his research in health economics, public finance, and industrial organization has examined healthcare productivity determinants including payment reforms, ownership structures, and consolidation. His work appears in top journals and has influenced policy, including citations in the 2022 State of the Union.

His academic credentials include:

• PhD in Economics, Stanford University
• MBA, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Gupta's research centers on applied microeconomics in healthcare, investigating how payment systems, ownership models (e.g., private equity), and policy changes affect healthcare quality and costs. Key areas include Medicare payment reforms, nursing home ownership, gene therapy financing, and end-of-life spending. His methodological approach combines empirical economics with health policy analysis to generate actionable insights for improving healthcare efficiency.

His 2020-2024 publications in journals like American Economic Review and Health Affairs reveal a consistent focus on healthcare payment innovation and ownership effects. Notable themes include private equity impacts (nursing homes), bundled payment outcomes (joint replacements), and policy evaluations (Affordable Care Act). This body of work demonstrates how market incentives and structural changes influence healthcare delivery and spending, with direct relevance to current policy debates.

Recognition for his contributions includes:

• Dorinda and Mark Winkelman Distinguished Faculty Scholar
• 2025 National Institute of Healthcare Management Research award for hospital corporatization study

Gupta mentors doctoral students through Wharton's Health Care Management proseminars and independent studies. His research is institutionally supported by the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (Senior Fellow) and National Bureau of Economic Research (Faculty Research Fellow), providing access to data resources and collaborative networks for investigating healthcare market dynamics.

He actively collaborates within Wharton's Health Care Management department and with interdisciplinary teams at the Leonard Davis Institute, focusing on empirical health economics research that bridges academic analysis and real-world healthcare challenges.