Arturo Vargas Bustamante
Arturo Vargas Bustamante is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and serves as Faculty Research Director at the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI). His research—published in leading health policy journals—focuses on health care access and utilization, health care disparities, and the economic evaluation of policies and programs that affect Latino communities.
At LPPI, he oversees the institute’s research agenda and collaborates with policymakers, community organizations, and academic partners to advance data-driven solutions that improve health care access and economic opportunity for Latinos. His recent work has examined access to Medicaid, the availability of primary care for individuals with limited English proficiency, and the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of his key priorities is identifying ways to address the shortage of Latinos in California’s health care workforce.
Before joining UCLA, he worked with the Inter-American Development Bank and the California Program on Access to Care, and began his career at Mexico’s Ministry of Health. He holds a Ph.D. and M.P.P. in Public Policy and an M.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley, and earned his undergraduate degree from El Colegio de México.
