Maria Polyakova

Maria Polyakova is a health economist who researches the impact of government interventions in healthcare markets. Professor Polyakova examines the design of public and private health insurance markets. She also assesses the role that information, including artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, plays in shaping consumers’ healthcare and health insurance choice. Her ongoing work focuses on the economics of chronic disease, examining individual, business, and system-level consequences.

Professor Polyakova has consulted as a damages expert in a pharmaceutical patent infringement matter involving economic assessment of the impact of drug entry on price competition among biologic drugs.

Professor Polyakova’s work employs a range of applied microeconomic methods and leverages diverse administrative data sources, including Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, and public all-payer claims databases (APCDs).

Analysis of medical and prescription drug plan design and pricing

Professor Polyakova’s research on health insurance has examined procurement issues, as well as the efficiency of government subsidies in privately run managed care plans, including pharmaceutical insurance plans. In these contexts, she has evaluated plan benefit design and financing, prescription drug price elasticities, and insurer pricing. She also analyzes the impact of health insurance policies on broader economic outcomes, such as healthcare labor markets.

Analysis of how consumers use health-related information

Professor Polyakova’s research also explores the links between information and individual health decisions, notably how differences in information access may lead to disparities in decision-making and health outcomes. Specifically, she analyzes how online decision tools inform health plan choices, how consumers process health-related information, and how such information, including factors related to private health risk, can affect individual behavior. Professor Polyakova has applied her research to topical areas such as determinants of youth mental health and disparities in COVID-19’s impact on health and economic outcomes.

Award-winning contributions to health economics scholarship

In 2026, the American Society of Heath Economists (ASHEcon) honored Professor Polyakova with its prestigious Kate Ho ASHEcon Medal, in recognition of her exceptional work in health economics.

Professor Polyakova has published articles in economics, healthcare, and business journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, JAMA, Health Affairs, and Management Science. She currently serves as editor of the Journal of Health Economics.

A senior fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Professor Polyakova is also a research associate in healthcare and public economics at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a research affiliate of CESifo, a global independent research network based in Germany.