The Effect of Medicaid Spending, Health, and Well-Being: Evidence and Implications for Reform

press release:

Health economist Katherine Baicker will give the 2017 Paul Offner Lecture, The Effect of Medicaid Spending, Health, and Well-Being: Evidence and Implications for Reform.

With the future of Medicaid and public health insurance subsidies in flux, gauging the effects of public insurance on health care spending, financial security, and physical and mental health is crucial. However, these effects are notoriously difficult to assess because there are many differences between uninsured and insured populations that may affect health.

Baicker, dean of the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, and colleagues used a rare opportunity in Oregon to conduct a randomized, controlled evaluation of the effects of Medicaid on a wide range of outcomes. She will present recent findings from this and other studies to shed light on the likely effects of health policy changes.

Baicker's research focuses primarily on the factors that drive the distribution, generosity, and effectiveness of public and private health insurance. Her work has appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Health Affairs, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and she has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio.

From 2005-2007, Baicker served as a Senate-confirmed member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, where she played a leading role in the development of health policy. She earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Yale University and her doctorate in economics from Harvard University.

The Offner Lecture honors the legacy of former state legislator Paul Offner, who received a doctorate in economics from Princeton University. At the time of his death in 2004, Offner was a consultant at The Urban Institute, where he contributed to breakthrough research on poverty in the United States.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and The Urban Institute sponsor the public lecture series. Previous speakers include former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Rep. David Obey, and E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post.

A reception will follow the hour-long presentation. RSVPs are requested but not required to Bridget Pirsch via email or by calling 608-265-2658.