Individuals and Institutions in the Health Care Sector
April 28-29, 2011
Organizers
- Amy Finkelstein, Friedman Institute Visiting Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- David O. Meltzer, University of Chicago
Current debates about health care policy and reform focus on two goals: lowering health care costs while increasing availability of insurance coverage and access to care. This conference brought together leading economists to discuss topical issues related to both sides of that equation.
The first day of the conference focused on provider issues that impact the cost of care, including technological innovation, entrepreneurship in health care, and provider prejudice. The day concluded with a talk on the developmental origins of health.
On the final day of the conference, presentations explored insurance issues such as adverse selection, moral hazard, pricing and health plan choice, and switching costs and the division of labor in medicine.
Program
Thursday, April 28
“Technological Innovation and Expenditure Growth in Health Care”
- Jonathan S. Skinner (Dartmouth College)
- Discussant: Jonathan S. Skinner (Dartmouth College)
- Paper (.pdf) » | Watch Video »
“Where Are All the Health Care Entrepreneurs?”
- David Cutler (Harvard University)
- Discussant: Pierre Azoulay (MIT)
- Watch Video »
“Identifying Provider Prejudice in Health Care”
- Amitabh Chandra (Harvard University)
- Discussant: Derek Neal (University of Chicago)
- Paper (.pdf) » | Watch Video »
“Developmental Origins of Health”
- James J. Heckman and Gabriella Conti (University of Chicago)
- Discussant: C. Hoyt Bleakley (University of Chicago)
- Watch Video »
Friday, April 29
“Selection on Moral Hazard in Health Insurance”
- Amy Finkelstein (MIT)
- Discussant: Fiona Scott Morton (Yale University)
- Paper (.pdf) » | Watch Video »
“Adverse Selection and Switching in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts”
- Benjamin Handel (University of California at Berkeley)
- Discussant: Jonathan Gruber (MIT)
- Paper (.pdf) » | Watch Video »
“Pricing and Welfare in Health Plan Choice”
- Jonathan Levin (Stanford University)
- Discussant: Robert J. Town (University of Minnesota)
- Paper (.pdf) » | Watch Video »
“Coordination, Switching Costs and the Division of Labor in General Medicine: An Economic Explanation for the Emergence of Hospitalists in the United States”
- David O. Meltzer (University of Chicago)
- Discussant: Douglas Staiger (Dartmouth College)
- Paper (.pdf) » | Watch Video »