Medicaid Researcher, Healthcare Innovations

American Institutes for Research

Join AIR as a Researcher focused on Medicaid policy and programs. Collaborating on complex challenges related to Medicaid coverage, care delivery, and health equity.

Posted 6/29/2026full-timeRemote • California, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $96,100 - $128,100 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead or contribute to the design and execution of Medicaid‑focused research and evaluation projects, including policy analyses, demonstrations, and program evaluations.
Apply appropriate quantitative methods to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret Medicaid administrative data, such as claims, encounters, enrollment, eligibility, and provider data.
Conduct analyses that examine Medicaid utilization, access, quality, cost, and equity outcomes across populations and delivery systems.
Translate complex analytic findings into clear, actionable insights for state and federal Medicaid stakeholders, including client reports, technical memoranda, and presentations.
Support proposal development for Medicaid‑related work by writing technical sections, contributing to analytic approaches, and supporting proposal strategy.
Manage small to mid‑sized project tasks or analytic components, including planning timelines, tracking deliverables, and coordinating with internal teams and external clients.
Collaborate closely with programmers, data scientists, policy staff, and project leadership to ensure analytic rigor and alignment with policy objectives.
Mentor and guide junior staff through feedback, training, and modeling best practices in quantitative and Medicaid policy research.
Engage with Medicaid stakeholders through meetings, briefings, and dissemination activities.
Contribute to a collaborative and inclusive work environment.

Requirements

What you’ll need

PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Economics, Public Policy, Health Services Research, Statistics, Public Health, Sociology, Political Science, or a related discipline), or a Master’s degree with at least four years of quantitative research experience.
Demonstrated experience conducting applied quantitative research related to Medicaid, public insurance, or safety‑net health programs.
Experience working with large‑scale administrative health data, particularly Medicaid claims, encounters, enrollment, eligibility, or provider files.
Experience interpreting analytic results and contributing to reports, briefs, or presentations that inform Medicaid program or policy decisions.
Experience working on research, evaluation, or technical assistance projects for federal or state Medicaid agencies, CMS, or other public or nonprofit entities.
Experience collaborating with cross‑functional teams, including programmers, analysts, and policy experts.
Familiarity with CMS data sources, Medicaid, and Medicare programs, waiver demonstrations (e.g., 1115 waivers), or value‑based payment models preferred, but not required.

Benefits

Comp & perks

AIR’s Total Rewards Program
Health insurance
Retirement plans
Paid time off
Flexible work arrangements
Professional development

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Quantitative MethodsData AnalysisPolicy AnalysisProgram EvaluationStatistical Software Proficiency

Soft Skills

MentoringCommunicationCollaborationProject Management