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NORC at the University Chicago

Maeve Russell

Research Scientist
Health Care Evaluation
Maeve is an experienced mixed-methods researcher and project manager for numerous national and state model evaluations.

Maeve has over nine years of experience in health care research, specializing in project management and qualitative research methods. At NORC, she has conducted qualitative data collection and analysis and mixed-methods analysis across a portfolio of state and federal evaluations, including large-scale national evaluations of payment and delivery system reform models for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and smaller state evaluations. Her research primarily focuses on alternative payment models and value-based care, behavioral health, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, home and community-based services (HCBS), and patient-centered outcomes and care.

Maeve serves as the project manager and qualitative lead for the evaluation of Minnesota’s Medicaid 1115 Substance Use Disorder System Reform Waiver and the qualitative lead for the evaluation of Rhode Island’s Medicaid 1115 Comprehensive Waiver. Maeve is also a mixed-methods researcher on the Evaluation of the ACO REACH Model and provides technical assistance across several other projects including the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model Implementation and Monitoring contract.

She previously led and conducted work for the Evaluation of the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model, an evaluation of the impact of American Rescue Plan Act funding on Oregon’s HCBS program, patient-centered research for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and the CMS Office of Minority Health, and additional analytic and management work for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, and the CDC Foundation.

Prior to joining NORC, Maeve worked as a data and policy analyst at Acumen, LLC, working primarily on CMS evaluations, as well as with the University of Washington on a USAID-funded research project in rural Tanzania.

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Expertise

Education

MPA

University of Washington

BA

Wesleyan University

Honors & Awards

Employee Recognition Award | 2024

NORC at the University of Chicago

Inducted Member | 2017

Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration

Project Contributions

Evaluating Oregon Health Authority’s ARPA Spending on HCBS Programs

Assessing the impact of American Rescue Plan Act funding on home- and community-based services

Client:

Oregon Health Authority

Evaluating Minnesota’s Medicaid 1115 Substance Use Disorder System Reform Waiver

Evaluating efforts to improve access to high-quality, evidence-based SUD treatment for Medicaid recipients

Client:

Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Division

Evaluating Rhode Island’s Medicaid Comprehensive Waiver

Evaluating programs implemented under Rhode Island’s Medicaid section 1115 demonstration

Client:

Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services

New Medicare Payment Models: Research and Support for PTAC

Evaluating new ideas and innovative approaches to improve healthcare quality and lower costs

Client:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Medicaid Financial Oversight Analysis

Improving the financial integrity of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program

Funder:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Evaluation of the ACO REACH Model

Assessing the ACO REACH Model’s impact on value-based care for Medicare beneficiaries

Client:

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Evaluation of the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model

Assessing CMS’s innovative ACO model to improve outcomes and reduce costs for Medicare beneficiaries

Client:

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Transforming Maternal Health Model Implementation & Monitoring

Supporting the design and implementation of payment and delivery system reforms to improve maternal health

Client:

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (The Innovation Center)

Publications

Research Library & Findings