Biosketch

Dr. Mary Charlton completed her Bachelor's in Nursing at the University of Iowa, and worked as a staff nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics while completing a Master's in epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. After completing her degree she worked as a Research Assistant in the University of Iowa Department of Family Medicine where she assisted in developing the Iowa Rural Research Network (IRENE), a practice-based research network of primary care physicians throughout Iowa, and participated in the design of research projects involving the improvement of care for people with diabetes in rural areas and to assess guideline adherence and measure quality of care for people with diabetes. She then worked for Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa and South Dakota from 2003 to 2008. During her time at Wellmark she held positions as a Leader in the Analysis and Reporting area which focused on decision support and information sharing with health care providers, employers and members, and as a Medical Trend Analyst focused on identifying and investigating potential medical benefit savings ideas, and proposing modifications to medical policies, reimbursement strategies, and benefit designs to senior leaders of the company. Research projects and proposals included several pharmacy and specialty pharmacy analyses, variation in coding and billing practices, guideline adherence and reimbursement policies and methodologies. While at Wellmark she completed her doctoral training in epidemiology with an emphasis in health services research from the University of Iowa, and also attended a summer session at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her dissertation work involved the evaluation of the impact of employer-sponsored high deductible health plans with health savings accounts on expenditures, utilization and use of preventive services. Her research interests and skills include health insurance and managed care, cost effectiveness analyses and evaluation of implications of payment on health care delivery.