Kyle A. Gavulic joined the Department of Health Policy in 2020. His primary research interest concerns the role of policies on health outcomes and access to care for underserved populations. Focus areas include (1) comparative health policy (2) high-cost pharmaceutical drugs (3) health disparities, and (4) the non-medical determinants of health. His research in LGBTQ health disparities and US prescription drug pricing has led to publications in the American Journal of Public Health and JAMA Health Forum. Currently his work focuses on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual and gender minority health in addition to examining Medicaid spending of products approved through the Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval pathway. Kyle also serves as Editorial Intern of JAMA Health Forum. Kyle holds a Bachelor of Arts in French and Medicine, Health, and Society with a concentration in health economies and policies from Vanderbilt University.
Carrie Fry, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She prioritizes research that produces rigorous, timely and relevant evidence to inform program and policy decisions. Her work focuses on the impact of health reform measures—particularly in the Medicaid program—on health and social well-being. She also conducts methodological research that improves health services and health policy research.
Her current research portfolio focuses on the intersection between health and social policy. She has ongoing research projects that evaluate coverage changes to the Medicaid program for people with mental health and substance use disorders using Medicaid claims data. Dr. Fry is the Tennessee PI for the Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN), a collaboration of 13 state/university partnerships geared at improving quality of care and outcomes for Medicaid enrollees with opioid use disorder. She’s also working on projects that explore the role of the legal system in the production of health for people under community supervision and returning to the community from jail/prison.
Dr. Fry has been published in Health Affairs, Psychiatric Services, Addiction and Health Services Research. Her work has been cited by national news outlets and policy briefs. Recently, she and her co-author, Dr. Laura Hatfield, were recognized for their methodological contributions via the inaugural James F. Burgess Methods Article of the Year award from HSR. Dr. Fry also serves on the editorial board of HSR.
She obtained her PhD from Harvard University’s Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy in 2020. Carrie also graduated from George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in 2011 with a BS in Child Development and in 2013 with an MEd in Community Development and Action.
A full CV is available upon request.
View Dr. Fry's research on PubMed.
Besaw RJ, Fry CE. State drug caps associated with fewer Medicaid-covered prescriptions for opioid use disorder, 2017-2022. Health Aff Sch. 2024-12-06; 2(12):qxae165. doi:10.1093/haschl/qxae165. PubMed PMID: 39677004 Citation in REDCap PMC11642619.
Fry CE, Harris J, Burns ME. Changes in legal referrals to specialty substance use disorder treatment from 2015-2019. Health Justice. 2024-11-06; 12(1):42. doi:10.1186/s40352-024-00297-2. PubMed PMID: 39503913 Citation in REDCap PMC11539304.
Crook HL, Graves JA, Fry CE. Primary Care Physician Network Overlap Between Medicaid and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Marketplace. JAMA Intern Med. 2024-05-01. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.0026. PubMed PMID: 38436985 Citation in REDCap PMC10912987.
Ramakrishnan A, Fry CE. Equity Implications of the Affordable Care Act Among People With Past-Year Criminal Legal Interactions. Psychiatr Serv. 2024-01-01. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.20220260. PubMed PMID: 37528700 Citation in REDCap
Health reform, Medicaid, mental health, substance use disorder
