Nima Khodakarami

Nima Khodakarami, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in Health Policy and Administration and an affiliated faculty at the Center for Applied Studies in health economics at the Penn State College of Medicine.  

He teaches courses on data and healthcare decisions, finance, and insurance, as well as required economics courses for all students. In the required economic courses, he focuses on a teaching style that is connected to students’ lives and how economics affects our culture, finances, and well-being.

In his health care classes, students can expect to learn and understand the factors involved in health-related decisions and to become astute consumers of health data that informs policy decisions. Students will learn about health insurance, and how to examine finance, budgeting, and strategic planning in health care organizations. They will be introduced to the methods and tools of economic analysis applying it to various health related areas such as the behavior of individual households and firms and how that behavior is influenced by government.    

Dr. Khodakarami incorporates case studies to ensure students learn to apply course concepts to real-life scenarios, and develop essential skills of critical thinking, data analysis, and applied research that addresses real-world  challenges. He has expertise in working with large administrative claims data and supports students in participating in his ongoing research.

Dr. Khodakarami’s classes prepare students for careers in the healthcare industry and social science related careers including:  

• Actuarial analyst
• Business analyst (healthcare focus)
• Medicaid/Medicare specialist
• Finance
• Health economist
• Policy analyst  
• Health benefits analyst
• Medical claims examiner
• Insurance compliance analyst
• Data analyst
• Government affairs associate
• Program manager
• Public health program coordinator
• Research scientist  
• Health services researcher