Biography
I am an health economist and associate professor in the Department of Health Policy & Management at Indiana University-Indianapolis, Fairbanks School of Public Health. I am also a research affiliate at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics and University of Wisconsin’s Center for Financial Security. Previously, I was an assistant professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs.
I study the impacts of public programs and policies on individuals’ health. Three particular areas of interest are: 1) the relationship between health insurance, public program participation, and health; 2) policies to improve health behaviors and mental health; and 3) reducing behavioral health inequities. My work has been published in journals such as Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, JAMA Oncology, JAMA Internal Medicine, and Health Affairs, and has received external grant funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy.
I completed my PhD in Business Economics and Public Policy at Indiana University in Bloomington. Prior to my graduate studies, I worked as an economist at IHS Global Insight and as an analyst at the US International Trade Commission. I received my M.A. in economics and B.A. in economics and journalism from Boston University, where I was a recipient of the Trustee Scholarship for academic excellence.
Selected Publications
Soni, Aparna & Erdal Tekin. (2023). “How do Mass Shootings Affect Community Wellbeing?” Journal of Human Resources, forthcoming.
Soni, Aparna & Erdal Tekin. (2022). “Mass Shootings in the United States: Population Health Impacts and State Policy Levers.” Health Affairs. Health Policy Brief. September 15, 2022.
Rakus, Alexandra & Aparna Soni. (2022). “Association Between State Medicaid Expansion Status and Health Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Health Services Research, 57(6), 1332-1341.
Soni, Aparna. (2022). “The Impact of the Repeal of the Federal Individual Insurance Mandate on Uninsurance.” International Journal of Health Economics and Management, 22, 423-441.
Soni, Aparna. (2020). “The Effects of Public Health Insurance on Health Behaviors: Evidence from the First Five Years of Medicaid Expansion.” Health Economics, 29(12), 1586-1605.
Soni, Aparna, Laura Wherry, & Kosali Simon. (2020). “How Have Affordable Care Act Insurance Expansions Affected Health Outcomes? Findings from the Literature.” Health Affairs, 39(3), 371-378.
Soni, Aparna, Kosali Simon, John Cawley, & Lindsay Sabik. (2018). “Effect of Medicaid Expansions of 2014 on Overall and Early-Stage Cancer Diagnoses.” American Journal of Public Health, 108(2), 216-218.
Soni, Aparna, Lindsay Sabik, Kosali Simon, & Benjamin Sommers. (2018). “Changes in Insurance Coverage Among Cancer Patients After the Affordable Care Act.” JAMA Oncology, 4(1), 122-124.
Simon, Kosali, Aparna Soni, & John Cawley. (2017). “The Impact of Health Insurance on Preventive Care and Health Behaviors: Evidence from the First Two Years of the ACA Medicaid Expansions.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36(2), 390-417.
