We regularly interview MJJ Foundation scholarship recipients who have returned to Lithuania after completing their master’s degrees at prestigious global universities. Seven years ago, Barbora Butkutė was one of the first recipients of the foundation’s scholarship. She went abroad to study in the “Health Economics and Management” master’s program across four different universities—Oslo, Bologna, Erasmus Rotterdam, and Innsbruck—which are regarded as the best in Europe for health management. After her studies, Barbora returned to Lithuania and worked in the private health sector, specifically at a medical technology startup. Today, she proudly applies her knowledge in the public sector.
Where do you currently work, how did you get there, and why did you agree to work for a state institution after being in the private sector?
Currently, I work at the National Health Insurance Fund, in the Data and Analysis Department. I am a health economist—a specialty that shines brightest not where numbers serve a product, but where they shape a system.
I didn’t leave the private sector because it was unfulfilling. I came here because I wanted a job where decisions carry weight and their consequences are not decades away. Lithuania is small, and our democracy is young—the work of a single person in the public sector can still be tangible here. Visible. Real.
And no, this isn’t a case of replacing compensation with romance. This is a job with a strong team, a clear rhythm, and a competitive salary. It’s just that this time, purpose and rationality ended up on the same side of the equation.
What goals are you currently working on? What kind of change are you aiming to create?
I work with data that isn’t always comfortable, but is usually a reflection of reality. It shows where the system works and where it is simply running on inertia.
It shows where patients travel through various links of the healthcare chain without any real medical reason. Where services are duplicated. Where money evaporates without leaving a trace in either the statistics or the patient’s well-being.
To me, analysis is not an end in itself. It isn’t meant for a drawer, a presentation, or just checking a box. It must change decisions. If nothing changes after an analysis, it isn’t an analysis. It’s just beautifully organized data.
What goals is our country pursuing in the healthcare system?
Ultimately, the goal of the healthcare system is deeply human: ensuring that a person gets help when they need it, where they live, and that this help is based on scientific evidence—not on the system’s convenience.
From an economic perspective, this means a more mature state. Less waste. Fewer actions done “just because.” More investment in areas where it yields returns in the form of better health, longer capacity to work, and a more genuine quality of life.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
The public sector is not a backup plan. It is a place for those who are interested in working with complex systems, taking responsibility for the consequences of decisions, and seeing how their work turns into real change. If someone is drawn to this kind of pace and scale—like-minded people are still very much needed here.
