Past Event
Forum

Addressing Economic Challenges in an Evolving Health Care Market

Wednesday, October 07, 2015
Health Care

Health-care spending represents nearly 20 percent of the U.S. economy. Following the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, many observers have agreed that new and forward-thinking policy solutions are needed to confront the enduring economic challenges in health care and health insurance markets. Fortunately, promising developments toward addressing these challenges have been identified through innovative new research on topics ranging from: enhancing consumer decision-making in health plan selection; innovating how health plans cover new medical technologies and treatments; and reexamining the charity care provided by nonprofit hospitals.

On October 7, The Hamilton Project hosted a policy forum addressing these economic challenges in an evolving health-care market, with a focus on three new papers released in conjunction with this event. Opening remarks were delivered by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin. Jason Furman, chairman of The Council of Economic Advisers, delivered framing remarks. Event participants included: Peter Orszag, nonresident senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings and vice chairman of corporate and investment banking at Citigroup, Inc.; Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association; Niall Brennan, chief data officer, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Julie Rovner, Robin Toner distinguished fellow and senior correspondent, Kaiser Health News; Martin Gaynor, E.J. Barone professor of economics and health, Carnegie Mellon University; and Dan Durham, executive vice president, America’s Health Insurance Plans.

The first panel discussed a new paper by Professors David Dranove, Craig Garthwaite and Christopher Ody (each of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management) which proposes a tradable credit system of community benefits in the non-profit hospital sector. The second panel focused on two new papers: “Correcting Signals for Innovation in Health Care,” by Professors Nicholas Bagley (University of Michigan), Amitabh Chandra (Harvard University), and Austin Frakt (Boston University) and “Improving Decision Making in Health Insurance Markets” by Professors Benjamin Handel and Jonathan Kolstad (both of University of California, Berkeley).

Agenda

1:30 PM Welcome and Introductions

Robert E. Rubin
Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations;
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary

1:40 PM Framing Remarks

Jason Furman
Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers

2:10 PM Roundtable: Exploring a Tradable Credit System for the Non-Profit Hospital Sector

Author:  Craig Garthwaite
Assistant Professor of Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Discussant:  Martin Gaynor
E.J. Barone Professor of Economics and Health Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Discussant:  Peter Orszag
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution;
Vice Chairman of Corporate and Investment Banking and Chairman of the Financial Strategy and Solutions Group, Citigroup, Inc.

Discussant:  Rick Pollack
President and CEO, American Hospital Association

Moderator:  Julie Rovner
Robin Toner Distinguished Fellow and Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News

3:10 PM    Break

3:20 PM    Roundtable: Improving Consumer Decision Making & Medical Technology Coverage in Health Insurance Markets

Author:  Amitabh Chandra
Professor of Public Policy and Director of Health Policy Research, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Discussant:  Niall Brennan
Chief Data Officer and Director of the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Author:  Benjamin Handel
Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley

Discussant:  Dan Durham 
Executive Vice President, America’s Health Insurance Plans

Discussant:  Peter Orszag
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution;
Vice Chairman of Corporate and Investment Banking and Chairman of the Financial Strategy and Solutions Group, Citigroup, Inc.

Moderator:  Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
Director, The Hamilton Project

4:30 PM Forum Adjourns