Overview
I am a health economist and an associate professor in the Division of Health Policy and Economics of the Department of Population Health Sciences. I direct the Medicaid Policy Impact Initiative at Cornell and am an associate director of the Cornell Health Policy Center and the Cornell Center for Health Equity.
I study Medicaid and the health care safety net in the United States. My research has focused, in part, on the financing of safety-net hospitals, access to care in Medicaid managed care, and the effects of Medicaid policies on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health and health care.
I co-founded the Medicaid Data Learning Network, a national collaborative dedicated to developing best practices for working with federal Medicaid claims data. I co-direct the Medicaid Atlas Project, which is creating a public data tool to track variation in Medicaid spending and utilization, as well as the Medicaid Insights Colloquium, a virtual seminar series connecting researchers and policymakers.
My research has appeared in a number of academic journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs. It has been featured by Bloomberg, CNBC, Politico, The Washington Post, and other outlets. I have received grant support from government and non-profit funders, including Arnold Ventures, Commonwealth Fund, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and United Hospital Fund.
I primarily teach in the executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership program offered jointly by Cornell's Johnson School of Management and Weill Cornell. I also teach and advise students in Weill Cornell’s Ph.D. in Population Health Sciences, M.S. in Health Policy and Economics, and M.D. programs. I currently serve as associate vice chair for education in the Department of Population Health Sciences.
I received my PhD in health policy and economics from Yale University, during which I was also a pre-doctoral fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. For work stemming from my dissertation, I received the Annual Student Prize from the International Health Economics Association. Before coming to Yale, I completed a master's degree and a research fellowship at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. I received my undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College.
For more on my career path, see this profile. My personal website and CV are here.
Highlights
- 1Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2024
- 2
- 3JAMA health forum · 2025
Publications
Funding
Active
9 grants- Co-IPF 255784-01The Physicians Foundation Center for the Study of Physician Practice and Leadership at Weill CornellPhysicians Foundation, Inc. · 2026–2029
- PIAV 26-17186Medicaid Atlas ProjectArnold Ventures · 2026–2028
- PI25-13470Safety-Net Hospital Closures in the United States: Consequences for Patients and MarketsArnold Ventures · 2025–2027
- Sub-PIR01MD018178-03Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to the Medicaid Transportation Benefit and Implications for Patient OutcomesNational Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities · 2023–2027 · via Cornell University - Ithaca
- Co-IR01HS029012-01A1Health Systems and High-Need Populations: The Effect of Vertical Integration on Utilization, Spending, and Quality for Medically ComplexPatientsAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2023–2027
- Co-INIH 254457-01The Impact of Expanding Insurance Coverage Earlier in Adulthood on Medicare Spending: Evidence from Linked Claims DataNIH Care Management Research and Educational Foundation · 2026–2026
- PI240202BMedicaid Unwinding in New York (MUNY) StudyUnited Hospital Fund of New York · 2024–2026
- Sub-PISA 245200-01Medicaid Data Learning NetworkCommonwealth Fund · 2024–2026 · via AcademyHealthContract
- Co-I8715449The Physicians Foundation Center for the Study of Physician Practice and Leadership at Weill Cornell MedicineThe Physicians Foundation · 2023–2026
Completed grants (11)
- Co-ICOVID-2020C2-10791Evaluating the Comparative Effectiveness of Telemedicine in Primary Care: Learning from the COVID-19 PandemicPatient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute · 2020–2025
- Co-I22-06918The Role of Value-Based Payment in Promoting Health Equity: Evidence from ACOsLaura & John Arnold Foundation · 2022–2025
- Sub-PI79459State Health & Value StrategiesRobert Wood Johnson Foundation · 2024–2024 · via Princeton University
- Sub-PIC026860Medicaid Unwinding in New York (MUNY) StudyNew York State Department of Health · 2024–2024 · via United Hospital Fund of New York
- Sub-PI20223856Medicaid Data Learning NetworkCommonwealth Fund · 2022–2024 · via AcademyHealth
- PI21-06179Characterizing the Concentration of Wealth in U.S. HospitalsArnold Ventures · 2021–2023
- PI20213316Examining Variation in Medicaid Primary Care Access and SpendingCommonwealth Fund · 2021–2023
- MPIP01AG019783-20Causes and Consequences of Health Care EfficiencyNational Institute on Aging · 2021–2023 · via Dartmouth College
- Co-IPF 170352-01Weill Cornell Center for the Study of Physician Practice and LeadershipPhysicians Foundation, Inc. · 2018–2022
- PIMMF 214688-02Examining Variation in Medicaid Primary Care Access and SpendingMilbank Memorial Fund · 2021–2022
- Co-IHSD-1604-35187Using Predictive Models to Improve Care for Hospitalized Patients with Novel Coronavirus DiseasePatient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute · 2020–2022
Honors & distinctions
- Executive M.B.A./M.S. in Healthcare Leadership Faculty Award · Cornell S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences · 2022
- Annual Student Prize · International Health Economics Association · 2020
News mentions
- Commentary: AI Could Help to Implement Health PolicyAugust 7, 2026
Artificial intelligence may enhance implementation of a new federal rule requiring aduts enrolled under the Affordable Care Act expansion of Medicaid eligibility to complete qualifying work hours or community engagement activities or meet exemption criteria to maintain coverage, according to a new commentary.
- Grant Supports Efforts to Create Atlas of Medicaid SpendingApril 27, 2026
The project will be one of the first major efforts of the Medicaid Policy Impact Initiative, a new cross-campus Cornell program aimed at supporting evidence-based policymaking in Medicaid.
- Data-Driven Research is Helping Health Policy – and Health EquityApril 27, 2026
Dr. William Schpero has seen firsthand how public policy drives patient outcomes at the population level, cementing a core idea that continues to guide his work as a health economist: that policy can be a powerful force for improving health equity — or, if poorly designed, a barrier to it.
- Reimagining Medicaid to Safeguard America’s ChildrenApril 9, 2026
As states reassess Medicaid coverage following recent federal policy changes and the end of pandemic-era protections, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, the Cornell Health Policy Center and Ariadne Labs are championing evidence-based health care policy reform and expanded Medicaid coverage for children.
- Cornell Researchers Enlist National Experts to Evaluate Key Health PoliciesSeptember 30, 2025
Most health policy experts don’t think new Medicaid work requirements introduced in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would substantially increase employment among Medicaid-enrolled, working-age adults, according to a new survey from the Cornell Health Policy Insight Panel.
Show 6 more mentions
- Brooks School, Weill Cornell Medicine Launch Center to Improve Health PolicyNovember 19, 2024
The center connects health policy researchers across Cornell’s campuses to help shape effective health policy at the federal, state and local levels.
- Medicaid Enrollees Struggle to Find Psychiatric CareJuly 31, 2024
Many people enrolled in Medicaid who require psychiatric care have difficulty accessing clinicians in a timely manner despite the higher need in this population, according to a study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.
- Medicaid Policies Increase Diverse Participation in Cancer Clinical TrialsJuly 25, 2024
Two Medicaid policies can interact to increase oncology clinical trial enrollment among Black and Hispanic patients, according to a new study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and Medidata AI.
- Patient Transfer Systems Needed to Ensure Equity, as ICUs Overload During PandemicJuly 20, 2023
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. hospitals had overcapacity intensive care units (ICU) while other area hospitals had open ICU beds available, a phenomenon known as “load imbalance.” The hospitals most likely to be overloaded in imbalanced regions served a higher number of Black patients and more patients enrolled in Medicaid, according to a new study conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.
- Study Finds Opportunities to Improve Targeting of Subsidies for Safety-net HospitalsDecember 6, 2022
The Medicaid program allocates nearly $20 billion a year in subsidies to support safety-net hospitals and other health care providers that serve low-income patients.
- New Medicaid Mandate Opens Door for More Diverse Clinical Trial ParticipationMay 22, 2021
A new federal mandate that requires Medicaid to cover clinical trial costs is an important step to increase racial and ethnic minority participation in research and improve access for low-income patients to advanced treatments.