Sumedha Gupta
Dr. Sumedha Gupta (Department of Economics, IU Indianapolis)
Using Health Economics to Drive Decent Work and Economic Growth
Addressing SDGs 3, 8 & 10
Dr. Sumedha Gupta is an Associate Professor at IU Indianapolis and the Inaugural Director of the IU-Health Economics Consortium. Appointed by Governor Mike Braun to the Indiana Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board, her research sits at the intersection of health economics, health policy, and applied microeconometrics, with a central argument that health policy is economic policy. A healthy population, she contends, is a prerequisite for a productive economy and a thriving workforce, and her research consistently works to demonstrate that link.
Dr Gupta’s 2021 landmark study, the first population-level analysis of its kind, demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccinations saved up to 140,000 lives within the first six months of rollout, representing approximately $1.4 trillion in statistical life value. The study makes a powerful case for sustained public investment in medical technologies, even when distributed at no cost, as a driver of both health and economic resilience.
A significant thread of Dr. Gupta's research focuses on the opioid epidemic and its consequences for workforce participation. She has shown that access to medications for opioid use disorder, the gold standard of evidence-based treatment, reduces fatal overdoses and helps individuals re-engage with the labor force. Her research on competitive effects of federal and state opioid restrictions further illuminates how policy design shapes treatment access and outcomes. The opioid crisis drove labor force participation among middle-aged Americans to historic lows; her work charts a policy path toward recovery.
Competitive Effects of Federal and State Opioid Restrictions, Journal of Health Economics, 2023
Trends in Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, JAMA Health Forum, 2025
Dr. Gupta's work on Medicaid policy examines how coverage gaps affect the most economically vulnerable in society. Her 2024 study on the resumption of Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, findings that were shared with ASPE (HHS) and cited by the CDC and NIH, showed greater system resilience than anticipated, informing federal and state policy decisions on coverage continuity.
Returning to the roots of her PhD dissertation, Dr. Gupta is also examining healthy aging and how life-course hardships shape whether individuals age well or transition into poor health. This research carries direct implications for SDG 8 and SDG 10: when individuals cannot age healthily, they are often unable to remain in the workforce and eventually transition into Medicaid-funded care, which is associated with lower quality outcomes than Medicare. Understanding these trajectories helps policymakers address inequality not just in healthcare access, but in the economic dignity of later life and directly contributing to SDG 10.
Resumption Of Medicaid Eligibility Redeterminations, Health Affairs, 2024
Medicaid Expansion and Buprenorphine Dispensing, JAMA Network Open, 2026
