Health Analyst

The Congressional Budget Office is a small nonpartisan agency that provides economic and budgetary analysis to the Congress. CBO’s Budget Analysis Division seeks an analyst for its Low-Income Health Programs and Prescription Drugs Cost Estimates Unit. The analyst will focus primarily on federal health programs that operate through private markets for health insurance—including employment-based insurance plans and health insurance marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act. The analyst will work closely with a team of other analysts on those topics.

The following are among the health analyst’s wide-ranging responsibilities:

·      Prepare multiyear spending projections for federal health programs;

·      Analyze the Administration’s budget proposals;

·      Analyze federal regulations, administrative actions, and judicial decisions that would affect private health insurance markets;

·      Provide nonpartisan technical assistance to Congressional staff; and

·      Prepare cost estimates for a range of legislation that would affect enrollment in or federal subsidies for coverage in employment-based and nongroup health insurance, including legislation to modify eligibility rules or amounts of federal assistance for marketplace coverage and legislation that would modify the list of services private health insurance plans must cover.

CBO’s analysts work closely with key Congressional staff members as the Congress prepares its annual budget plans, considers the President’s budget proposals, and evaluates the budgetary effects of legislation. Staff members are significantly involved in budget and legislative processes.

Applicants must have either:

1.    a graduate degree in public policy, public administration, public health, economics, or a related field and a strong interest in health policy; or

2.    a bachelor’s degree in one of those fields with at least four years of directly relevant work experience.

The position requires the following:

·      Demonstrated experience in health policy analysis;

·      Strong quantitative skills and the ability to develop and maintain spreadsheet models;

·      Exceptional communication skills, especially the ability to clearly explain and defend analytical results to other CBO and Congressional staff, Members of Congress, and the public;

·      Willingness to work collaboratively with multiple teams;

·      Facility with handling multiple projects simultaneously, often under tight deadlines; and

·      A desire to contribute directly to the analysis of health policy in a nonpartisan setting.

Knowledge of health care financing, private insurance markets, and federal health programs and familiarity with SAS or other data analysis software are desirable.