Sayeh Nikpay is a health policy economist specializing in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, a federal program that allows certain hospitals and federal grantees to purchase discounted prescription drugs. In her research, Professor Nikpay applies econometric and statistical techniques to evaluate how the 340B program affects hospital safety net engagement, pharmaceutical spending, and patient affordability. She has also analyzed the growth of retail pharmacies that dispense prescriptions through the 340B program.
Professor Nikpay publishes her research in leading healthcare and economics journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, the American Journal of Managed Care, JAMA Health Forum, and the Journal of Public Economics. Her coauthored article on 340B participation and hospital safety net engagement received Health Services Research’s John M. Eisenberg Article-of-the-Year Award for outstanding, original research. The New York Times and the Washington Post have cited Professor Nikpay’s work.
Professor Nikpay speaks widely on health economics and healthcare policy subjects and has given presentations at universities and professional associations in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
At the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Professor Nikpay teaches statistics, healthcare delivery, economics, and policy courses. Previously, she served on the faculty of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Health Policy and as a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.
Professor Nikpay served as a staff economist at the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers shortly after the passage of the Affordable Care Act.