Miranda Yaver Headshot

Miranda Elyse Yaver

Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Chapter Leader: Central Pennsylvania SSN
Areas of Expertise:

About Miranda

Yaver's research lies at the intersection of US health law, politics, and policy, with a forthcoming book on administratrive burdens and inequities driven by health insurance barriers. Her research has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Law, Economics & Organization, Scientific Reports, JAMA Pediatrics, Lancet Regional Health-Americas, Journal of Health Law, Politics, and Policy, and World Medical & Health Policy. She has written op-eds in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Hill, MSNBC, MedPage, and STATNews, with appearances in CNBC Digital and NPR Morning Edition. She is the 2025 Author-in-Residence at the Roosevelt Institute.

No Jargon Podcast

In the News

Guest on What the Health, KFF Health News, May 21, 2026.
Guest on CBS Sunday Morning, January 11, 2026.
Quoted by Julia Metraux in "Senate Republicans Blocked Yet Another Chance to Save Obamacare Subsidies," Mother Jones, December 11, 2025.
Opinion: "My $30,000 health insurance claim was denied. Then I tweeted about it," Miranda Elyse Yaver, The Guardian, February 26, 2025.
Quoted by Anuz Thapa in "How Rising Health Care Claim Denials are Hurting Americans," CNBC, February 22, 2025.
Opinion: "‘Rationing by inconvenience’: Health insurers count on customers not appealing denials," Miranda Elyse Yaver, STAT NEWS, January 23, 2025.
Opinion: "The Fifth Circuit Halted Biden’s Vaccine Mandate. Here’s What the Lawsuits Are Arguing.," Miranda Elyse Yaver, The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, November 9, 2021.
Opinion: "In Some States, Coronavirus Measures Are Effectively Banning Abortion," Miranda Elyse Yaver, The Washington Post, March 31, 2020.
Opinion: "Republicans’ Secretive Plan for Health Care," Miranda Elyse Yaver, The New York Times, June 9, 2017.
Opinion: "States With More Planned Parenthood Clinics Have Fewer Teen Births and Sexually Transmitted Diseases," Miranda Elyse Yaver, The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, March 27, 2017.
Opinion: "Good Luck Getting Healthcare in Donald Trump’s America," Miranda Elyse Yaver, The Guardian, November 30, 2016.

Publications

Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States (Cambridge University Press, 2026).

Looks at how health insurance coverage denials damage patient health and exacerbate inequalities along income, education, and racial lines.

"Administrative Burdens and Inequities in COBRA Take-Up" World Medical & Health Policy (2025).

Finds that not only are there racial, economic, and educational disparities in awareness of COBRA health insurance, but those disparities persist when evaluating whether patients expect their health care costs to go up under the insurance program. This leads workers from marginalized backgrounds vulnerable to suboptimal employment decisions based on an expectation of more meaningful access to health benefits.

"Trump's Second Presidency Begins: Evaluating Effects on the US Health System" (with Scott Greer, Holly Jarman, and Rachel Kulikoff). Lancet Regional Health-Americas 48 (2025).

Evaluates the first 100 days of the Trump presidency with respect to domestic health resources, financing, governance, and service delivery.

"Firearm Laws and Pediatric Mortality in the US" (with Jeremy Samuel Faust, Ji Chen, Shriya Bhat, Onyekachi Otugo, Benjamin Renton, Alexander Junxiang Chen, Zhenqiu Lin, and Harlan M. Krumholz). JAMA Pediatrics (2025).

Explores whether, while firearms were the leading cause of death in US children and adolescents, the overall legal landscape was associated with excess mortality after a landmark US Supreme Court decision in 2010. Finds that states in the most permissive firearm law categories experienced greater pediatric firearm mortality during the post-McDonald v Chicago era.

"Rationing by Inconvenience: How Insurance Denials Induce Administrative Burdens" Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law 49, no. 4 (2024): 539–565.

Explores how the administrative burdens of appealing health insurance coverage denials disproportionately affect less affluent and marginalized patients. Finds that that these patients are less likely to appeal denials due to significant barriers, including financial and psychological costs. Highlights the need for policy changes to address these inequities and simplify the appeal process.

"Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidal Ideation Among Ph.D. Students" (with Emily N. Satinsky, Tomoki Kimura, Mathew V. Kiang, Rediet Abebe, Scott Cunningham, Hedwig Lee, Xiaofei Lin, Cindy H. Liu, Igor Rudan, Srijan Sen, Mark Tomlinson, and Alexander C. Tsai). Scientific Reports 11 (2021).

Reviews evidence on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Ph.D. students. Finds substantial rates of depression and anxiety, underscoring the urgent need for programs that monitor and support the mental health of Ph.D. students.

"Congressional Assertions of the Spending Power: Institutional Conflict and Regulatory Authority" The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 32, no. 2 (2016): 272–305.

Examines how Congress shifts its reliance from Commerce Clause to Spending Clause authority in regulatory law when it faces greater constraints from the courts.

"Divided Government and the Fragmentation of American Law" (with Sean Farhang). American Journal of Political Science 60, no. 2 (2016): 401-417.

Explores the ways that Congress fragments power across multiple administrative actors and agencies so as to insulate policy amid conditions of divided government or electoral uncertainty.