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Caroline Carlin, PhD is an Investigator with the Medica Research Institute, with a primary research interest in exploring how information and incentives, including financial and organizational structure, and affect decisions among actors in health care systems. She is currently PI for a project supported by The Commonwealth Fund, studying how ownership structure of provider practices affects care delivery patterns, and quality and cost of health care. Her prior health care research explores how health plan premiums and plan design affect decisions about health plan enrollment, care seeking and adherence to treatment plans. Her research includes the study of information provision on decision-making, specifically examining the impact of provider network quality information on health plan choice. Dr. Carlin is trained in health services research and health economics, and taught microeconomics and econometrics at the University of Minnesota for five years. She continues to advise graduate students as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Applied Economics. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Carlin worked as a health care actuary, achieving Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries, as an employee benefits consultant, and as the Benefits Director for a large national retailer. This practical experience of health plan administration and patient/employee decision-making across a wide variety of settings, including low-wage earners, adds important context to her research agenda. She has significant experience managing large claims datasets, both as a researcher and as a consultant in her non-academic career.

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