HCFO

HCFO Grantees

cticse — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 20:23:31 +0000

Browse our grantee spotlights. Learn more about each grantee from the HCFO program's nearly 30 year history here.

Insurers: The Latest Players in the Consolidation Space

cticse — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 16:47:31 +0000

Competition in the health insurance industry serves to protect consumers by providing access to affordable care. As Aetna looks to acquire Humana, and Anthem pursues Cigna, the proposed health insurance mergers have raised concerns over whether consolidation will reduce competition. During a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on health insurance consolidation and its impact on consumers, the chief executives of Aetna and Anthem remained confident that the deals would enhance competition and reduce costs for consumers.

Media Accounts Raise Price Transparency Questions, RWJF Grants Seek Answers

lradomski — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 16:39:57 +0000

In the past year, national news stories have focused a lot of attention to the prices charged for health care. This coverage has included Stephen Brill’s Time Magazine piece, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” and a series of articles by Elizabeth Rosenthal in The New York Times. Accounts like these have underscored how mu

Can Economic Factors Influence the Choice of Prostate Cancer Treatment?

lradomski — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:31:42 +0000

New medical technology has the potential to improve health outcomes for patients, sometimes at costs lower than that of existing technology, sometimes at higher cost. In the case of prostate cancer, a potentially serious condition that will be newly diagnosed in more than 238,000 men in the United States in 2013, proton beam therapy represents an innovation in treatment. Unlike traditional radiation therapy, proton beam therapy more precisely targets cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. Recent research, however, suggests that this new technology ma

Richard Scheffler, Ph.D.

christina.zimmerman — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:28:48 +0000

Richard M. Scheffler, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy at the School of Public Health and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds the Chair in Healthcare Markets & Consumer Welfare endowed by the Office of the Attorney General for the State of California. Dr. Scheffler is director of The Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare.

HCFO Year in Review

mcollado — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:02:17 +0000

Laurence Baker, Ph.D.

lradomski — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:44:32 +0000

Laurence Baker, Ph.D., is professor of health research and policy and chief of Health Services Research at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He also holds appointments in the Stanford Department of Economics, the Stanford Center for Health Policy, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Yaa Akosa Antwi, Ph.D.

christina.zimmerman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:52:25 +0000

Yaa Akosa Antwi, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of economics at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. Previously, she was an instructor at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research interests include health economics, public economics, and applied microeconomics. Her work has been published through numerous outlets including the Forum for Health Economics & Policy and National Bureau of Economic Research Working Papers.

Tracy Yee, Ph.D.

christina.zimmerman — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:09:30 +0000

Assessing the Implications of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Requirement

lradomski — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:03:44 +0000

Individuals and businesses across the country received checks from their health insurance companies this summer under a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that targets insurers’ use of premium dollars. Minimum medical loss ratios (MLRs) require insurers to spend a certain percentage of premium revenue on health care claims and quality improvement activities. Under the ACA, insurers that do not meet new MLR standards must rebate the portion of premium dollars that exceeds the target. An article by Ken Alltucker in read more