Keith Kranker

Keith Kranker conducts health services research to assess the effects of public programs and policies on health care utilization, costs, quality of care, and health outcomes. His research and program evaluations have focused on a range of subjects, including Medicare and Medicaid alternative payment models, end-of-life care, primary care redesign, maternal and child health, cardiovascular and mortality risk, managing chronic conditions, care transitions, rural health care, and patient safety. He is an expert in quantitative research methods, including evaluation design, causal inference, data management, and statistical and econometric analysis.

Kranker has served in leadership and technical roles on six large evaluations funded by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, overseeing large teams and collaborating with stakeholders. Currently, he directs the evaluation of the Medicare Care Choices Model, which estimates the effects of offering eligible Medicare beneficiaries the option to receive supportive and palliative care services at the end of life in addition to Medicare’s usual coverage policies. He is also evaluating how the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model reduced the incidence of heart and strokes among enrolled Medicare beneficiaries. Over the course of his career, he has led rigorous quantitative and mixed methods research and collected and analyzed primary data and secondary data sources including Medicare and Medicaid claims and enrollment data, clinical data, and surveys.

Before joining Mathematica, Kranker held positions at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank Group. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland and a B.S. in engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. His research has been included in federal agency reports and published in venues such as the Journal of Health Economics, the Journal of Human Resources, Health Services Research, The American Statistician, and JAMA Cardiology. He lives in Silverton, Colorado.