Melinda Buntin joined Vanderbilt School of Medicine in 2013 as professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy, and in March 2018 was appointed the Mike Curb Chair for Health Policy. She was previously Deputy Assistant Director for Health at the Congressional Budget Office where she evaluated legislative proposals and directed studies related to health care financing, including reports on prescription drugs under Part D, beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and care coordination demonstrations. Prior to that Dr. Buntin was deputy director of RAND Health's Economics, Financing, and Organization Program, director of Public Sector Initiatives for RAND Health, and co-director of the Bing Center for Health Economics. Her research at RAND focused on insurance benefit design, health insurance markets, provider payment, and the care use and needs of the elderly. Dr. Buntin's work at Vanderbilt is focused on health care delivery and costs, with an emphasis on improving the value created by the health care system. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and currently serves on the National Academy of Medicine's Board on Health Care Services. Dr. Buntin has an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and a Ph.D. in Health Policy with a concentration in economics from Harvard.