Jelena Zurovac

Jelena Zurovac leads Mathematica’s work in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and real-world evidence (RWE), partnering with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies to generate actionable insights.

She advises multidisciplinary teams on the design and execution of rigorous studies that leverage a variety of real-world data sources and methods, including epidemiology, RWE, and market access analyses. Zurovac’s experience includes infectious disease, chronic disease, quality of care, behavioral health, substance use, and genetic testing. Her recent work includes analytical epidemiology studies on social determinants of health, vaccine uptake, and infectious disease incidence among Medicare and Medicaid populations; and comparative effectiveness analyses of vaccines’ impact on healthcare resource use and expenditures among Medicare enrollees. These projects have informed advisory bodies such as the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, supported value propositions and reimbursement discussions, and helped clients strengthen messaging.

Before her current role, Zurovac led and contributed to large-scale evaluations of federal value-based payment models, delivery system reforms, and health initiatives supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other federal agencies. She brings deep expertise in causal inference and RWE studies using Medicare and Medicaid claims data, including healthcare use, costs, quality of care, patient safety, and medication use and prescribing patterns.

Zurovac holds a PhD in economics from the University of Washington (UW) and an MS in pharmaceutical outcomes research and policy from the UW CHOICE institute. Her work has appeared in journals such as Health Services Research, Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research, Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, and Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.