Helen Levy

Helen Levy, PhD, is a Research Professor at the University of Michigan in the Department of Health Management and Policy, Institute for Social Research, and Ford School of Public Policy. She holds a PhD in Economics from Princeton University (1998) and a BA in Mathematics and History from Yale University (1991). Her research focuses on health insurance impacts, public health policy evaluations, and material hardship among older Americans. She co-leads the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study on aging dynamics.

Dr. Levy has served as a Senior Economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (2010–2011) and previously held roles at the University of Chicago Harris School and University of California, Berkeley. Her work emphasizes healthcare access disparities, Medicaid/Medicare policy, and poverty measurement innovations. Key contributions include analyzing high-deductible health plans, healthcare utilization trends, and socioeconomic factors affecting vulnerable populations.

Her research has informed policy debates on healthcare financing, retirement economics, and social welfare systems. Collaborations span academia, government, and think tanks, including the National Bureau of Economic Research. Dr. Levy’s interdisciplinary approach bridges economic theory with real-world public health challenges, particularly for aging populations and low-income groups.