Rachel Machta

Rachel Machta is a mixed-methods researcher. Her research focuses on delivery system reform, including the evaluation of new payment models and other delivery system redesign efforts geared at improving quality and reducing costs. She has expertise in care transformation, incentive designs, and the changing landscape of the U.S. health care systems. She is skilled at synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data and translating complex findings into actionable insights for different audiences.  

Machta currently serves as the deputy project director and implementation lead of the Maryland Total Cost of Care (MD TCOC) Model for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This project is estimating the effects of statewide commitments to cost and quality goals—combined with hospital all-payer global budgets, primary care investments, and other incentives—on cost and quality of medical care throughout Maryland. The project uses interviews, surveys, and program data to identify what might be driving observed model effects.

Machta’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Health Affairs and Health Services Research. She holds in Ph.D. in health policy and management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.