
Megan B. Cole Brahim, PhD
Associate Professor, Health Law, Policy & Management - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Dr. Cole is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management at Boston University School of Public Health and co-director of the BU Medicaid Policy Lab. She is a health services researcher who uses econometric methods to study how Medicaid policy and innovative care delivery models affect quality of care, access to care, and racial equity of care for Medicaid and other low-income, safety-net populations, especially those served by federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Other research examines access to and use of health insurance. Recent work in these areas has focused on mental health, maternal health, and chronic disease populations. Most of this work leverages large datasets, including national Medicaid claims data; All Payer Claims Data (APCD); electronic health record (EHR) data; and national and statewide patient survey data.
Dr. Cole is the Principal Investigator (PI) of national and statewide research studies that are funded by the NIH. She leads an R01 that examines how Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) models impact quality and equity of care for pregnant and postpartum patients. She is also PI on research examining how Medicaid ACOs address unmet social needs (e.g., food insecurity, housing insecurity) of patients. She leads other work that evaluates how rapid adoption of telehealth during COVID-19 mitigated, or exacerbated, disparities in quality of care among Medicaid-enrollees served by FQHCs, particularly among patients with mental health needs, pregnant patients, and patients with diabetes.
Examples of other recent and ongoing work include examining the impact of Medicaid eligibility expansions on coverage, quality of care, access to care, and equity within low-income populations; evaluating the impact of integrating behavioral health into primary care at FQHCs; evaluating how a telehealth navigator intervention may impact racial disparities in hypertension outcomes for patients served by FQHCs; understanding the impact of COVID-19 on FQHCs and the role of FQHCs in enabling equitable access to care during the pandemic; and assessing the role of under-insurance (e.g., high deductible health plans) in access to care for low-income, racial/ethnic minoritized, and other marginalized populations.
Dr. Cole completed her PhD in Health Services Research at Brown University School of Public Health and received an MPH in Health Policy from Yale University School of Public Health. She previously worked in research consulting, where she worked with state and federal agencies on Medicaid policy and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. She currently serves as co-editor-in-chief for the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management and serves on the editorial board of Health Services Research. Her work has been covered by outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, Vox, US News & World Report, The Hill, and Forbes.
Education
- Brown University, PhD Field of Study: Health Services Research
- Yale University, MPH Field of Study: Health Administration
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, BS Field of Study: Public Health
Websites
Classes Taught
- SPHPM931
- SPHPM932
Publications
- Published on 1/1/2024
From the Editors. J Ambul Care Manage. 2024 Jan-Mar 01; 47(1):1-2. PMID: 37994508.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/21/2023
Staloff J, Cole MB, Frogner B, Sabbatini AK. National and State-Level Trends in Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services at Federally Qualified Health Centers, 2012-2019. J Community Health. 2023 Nov 21. PMID: 37985556.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/3/2023
Nguyen KH, Cole MB. Editorial: Meeting the Needs of Federally Qualified Health Center Patients Following the Public Health Emergency Unwinding. J Ambul Care Manage. 2024 Jan-Mar 01; 47(1):43-47. PMID: 37994513.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/3/2023
Gordon SH, Cole MB, Huberfeld N. Georgia Pathways-Partial Medicaid Expansion With Work Requirements and Premiums. JAMA. 2023 Oct 03; 330(13):1225-1226. PMID: 37713204.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/1/2023
From the Editors. J Ambul Care Manage. 2023 Oct-Dec 01; 46(4):263-264. PMID: 37651738.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/16/2023
Giron NC, Cole MB, Nguyen KH. Use of and barriers to adopting standardized social risk screening tools in federally qualified health centers during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Serv Res. 2023 Sep 16. PMID: 37715519.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/1/2023
From the Editors. J Ambul Care Manage. 2023 Jul-Sep 01; 46(3):181-182. PMID: 37223886.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/2/2023
Lee EK, Donley G, Ciesielski TH, Freedman DA, Cole MB. Spatial availability of federally qualified health centers and disparities in health services utilization in medically underserved areas. Soc Sci Med. 2023 Jul; 328:116009. PMID: 37301106.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/18/2023
Hanchate AD, Strackman BW, Lin M, Paasche-Orlow MK, Lasser KE, Cole MB. Medicaid expansion associated with no change in emergency department use across racial and ethnic groups. Health Serv Res. 2023 Oct; 58(5):1014-1023. PMID: 37202905.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 4/7/2023
Cole MB, Lee EK, Frogner BK, Wright B. Changes in Performance Measures and Service Volume at US Federally Qualified Health Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Health Forum. 2023 Apr 07; 4(4):e230351. PMID: 37027165.
Read At: PubMed
View 43 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
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Published on September 29, 2023
New Georgia Medicaid Expansion ‘Will Come at the Expense of Low-income Georgians’
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Published on May 9, 2023
Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued with Medical Debt
- Published on April 7, 2023
- Published on April 7, 2023
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Published on March 17, 2023
Professor Receives $3.8M NIH Grant to Study Impact of Medicaid ACOs on Maternal Health Outcomes
- Published on February 16, 2023
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Published on November 15, 2022
Telehealth UPS Engagement for Medicaid Patients with Mental Health Diagnosis
- Published on October 13, 2022
- Published on February 24, 2022
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Published on January 19, 2022
Federal Health Centers Administer Most COVID-19 Vaccines to Minorities
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Published on January 12, 2022
Health Centers Are Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Equity among People of Color
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Published on January 10, 2022
Health Centers Are Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Equity among People of Color
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Published on September 21, 2021
Medicaid Expansion Improves Hypertension and Diabetes Control
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Published on September 14, 2021
Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion Helped Americans’ Blood Pressure
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Published on September 10, 2021
Medicaid Expansion Tied to Improvements in Blood Pressure, Glucose Control
- Published on September 10, 2021
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Published on April 30, 2021
BU Medicaid Policy Lab Advances Research with a Health Equity Focus
- Published on March 16, 2021
- Published on March 15, 2021
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Published on March 8, 2021
Expanding Health Coverage Is Good. But We Also Need to Fix Stingy Plans.
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Published on March 5, 2021
State Juggles Vaccine Distribution as Fewer Online Slots Frustrate Eligible Residents
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Published on February 18, 2021
New BU Lab Studies Medicaid, Where Racism, Poverty, and COVID-19 Meet
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Published on January 28, 2021
Professor Awarded $720K to Evaluate an Equity-Focused Telehealth Model
- Published on November 4, 2020
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Published on August 10, 2020
Here’s Four Reasons Why Your Health Insurance Will Go Up in 2021
- Published on July 1, 2020
- Published on June 30, 2020
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Published on June 26, 2020
High-Deductible Health Plans May Increase Racial Inequities, Study Finds
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Published on June 26, 2020
High-Deductible Health Plans Disproportionately Hurting Black Cancer Survivors
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Published on June 24, 2020
High Deductible Health Plans Are Widening Racial Health Gaps
- Published on June 4, 2020
- Published on June 3, 2020
- Published on November 19, 2019
- Published on April 12, 2019
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Published on April 10, 2019
As They Age, People Living with HIV Getting Other Chronic Conditions
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Published on September 13, 2018
2018-2019 Career Development Awards Honor Eight Junior Faculty
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Published on June 12, 2018
Medicaid Expansion Improves Care Quality, Increases Volume, Studies Show
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Published on June 5, 2018
Medicaid Expansion Increases Volume and Quality of Care in Rural Areas
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Published on June 5, 2018
Medicaid Expansion Increases Volume and Quality of Care in Rural Areas
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Published on April 3, 2018
Community Health Centers Minimize Health Disparities, But No Evidence of Recent Change
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Published on February 9, 2018
‘Disruptive’ New Healthcare Company: The Devil Will Be in the Details