Grantees in the News

David Dranove, Ph.D., professor at Northwestern University 's Kellogg School of Management, was quoted in the May 26, 2008, Chicago Tribune article titled, "Critics queasy over hospital mergers."  This article highlights recent hospital mergers and discusses how these mergers may affect prices.

Findings from a HCFO-sponsored study led by Judith H. Hibbard, Dr.P.H., professor at the University of Oregon, were highlighted in the July 9, 2008 Portland Business Journal article, "Problems found with consumer-directed health plans." The article discusses whether the underlying assumptions of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) are true.

Joseph P. Newhouse, Ph.D., professor at Harvard University, was recently interviewed for a Newsweek articles that discussed the presidential candidates' health care reform proposals. In the September 8, 2008 article, "Is Medicare Healthy?" Newhouse discussed the impact of an aging population and rising health care costs on Medicare and aspects of the candidates' proposed Medicare reforms, including price controls and means testing.

Katherine Swartz, Ph.D., was recently interviewed for a Newsweek article that discussed the presidential candidates' health care reform proposals. In the October 6, 2008 article, "Got Insurance?" Swartz discussed select components of the candidates' health care reform proposals, including tax credits, high-risk pools, and a health insurance exchange. Swartz completed multiple HCFO-sponsored projects that examined the individual insurance market, adverse selection, and the dynamics of spells without health insurance.

Judith H. Hibbard, Dr.P.H., was interviewed in the October 28, 2008 Oregonian article, "Remembering to Put Quality into Health Care." In this interview, Hibbard discussed health care quality, quality measurement and reporting, and patient activation. Hibbard completed HCFO-sponsored studies that examined consumer-directed health plans, public reporting, and methods for presenting quality information to assist consumers to make health plan decisions.

Hal S. Luft, Ph.D., director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, published the book, Total Cure: An Antidote to the Health Care Crisis, which presents a new proposal for health care reform.

Ann O'Malley, senior health researcher at the Center for Studying Health System Change, was quoted in the November 23, 2008 Chicago Tribune news blog, "A Crisis in Primary Care Accelerates." The news blog discusses the current state of primary care and highlights findings from a Physicians Foundation survey.

Findings from a HCFO-sponsored study led by Judith Hibbard, Dr.P.H., professor at the University of Oregon, were cited in the January 21 FierceHealthFinance editorial, “Can Physicians Make CDHPs Work?” In this study, Hibbard and colleagues examined whether the underlying assumptions of consumer-directed health plans were true.

David Dranove, Ph.D., professor at Northwestern University, was quoted in the March 14 New York Times article, “Bad Economy Leads Patients to Put Off Surgery, or Rush It.” The article discusses how individuals are delaying elective procedures as a result of the economic downturn. Dr. Dranove states, “During good economic times, the trade-offs aren’t as severe. It’s that $2,000 for elective surgery versus that vacation in Cancun.

Findings from a HCFO study led by Alan Sager, Ph.D., professor at Boston University, were highlighted in the May 3 Compass Group, Inc. blog post “History on Hospital Closings Relevant to Current Health Care Reform.” This HCFO study updated a large longitudinal database of hospital trends to examine how the hospital industry changed between 1980 and 1995.