Maria Polyakova Wins Health Economics' Coveted Early-Career Honor

Maria Polyakova, PhD, has earned one of the highest honors in health economics, the prestigious ASHEcon Medal, awarded annually to a standout early-career economist under the age of 40 who has made the most significant contributions to the field.

Polakova, an associate professor at of health policy and (by courtesy) of economics, directs Stanford Health Policy’s master’s program, is a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and an editor for the Journal of Health Economics. Her research spans many areas of health economics, including health insurance, health care labor markets, and individual decision-making in health and health care. A unifying thread is evaluating whether markets and government policy effectively serve individuals and families or introduce distortions.

Polyakova’s recent series of studies about physician pay, for example, has been cited in numerous publications and featured in media outlets, including The Washington Post. And her ongoing work focusing on how families navigate prolonged health shocks, such as her study on the economics of infertility, also has received media and policy attention.

We are delighted to see this recognition of Dr. Polyakova’s exceptional contributions across many areas of health economics. It’s an extraordinary achievement and so well deserved.

Doug Owens, MD

Chair of the Department of Health Policy at Stanford Medicine

“These awards recognize the outstanding research in health economics, support continued excellence, and celebrate peers, colleagues, and students whose work advances the field," the American Society of Health Economists said in a statement about the awards.

This year, the ASHEcon board renamed the ASHEcon Medal the Kate Ho ASHEcon Medal, in honor of Kate Ho, a distinguished Princeton University professor of health and industrial organizational economics who passed away in December 2025.

“I am incredibly grateful for this recognition, and I share it with the incredible mentors, collaborators, and students who have shaped my work,” Polyakova said. “It is especially meaningful to receive an honor that now bears Kate Ho's name—her work, mentorship, and humanity set a standard that so many of us aspire to and she is deeply missed.”

Polyakova will be honored at the annual society conference in Minneapolis, Minn., in June.

Examining US Physician Incomes by International Comparison

SHP's Maria Polyakova and Victoria Udalova compare physician income in the United States, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands. U.S. doctors earn significantly more than their foreign counterparts—but that's largely because Americans across the board earn more.

Examining US Physician Incomes by International Comparison