David Dranove, Ph.D., the Walter McNerney Distinguished Professor of Health Industry Management at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, was recently appointed to Huron Consulting Group’s Academic Council. A press release from Huron noted that “the Council members address matters of importance in economic litigation and related academic research.”
Jack Hoadley, Ph.D., a health policy analyst and political scientist at the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, was quoted in an October 14, 2006 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examining increased Medicare prescription drug plans for 2007. The article states that in Allegheny County, PA beneficiaries will have 89 local plan options, an increase over the 70 offered in 2006. Hoadley cautions that “polls suggest that many consumers would ‘prefer fewer choices rather than more’.” He went on to say that many seniors feel that “having many plans to choose from ‘makes it confusing and difficult to pick the best plan’.”
Glen Mays, Ph.D., associate professor and director of research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was quoted in an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on October 8, 2006 that examined Arkansas’ “any willing provider” law. The article states that although Arkansas is not the first state to have such a law, “it could be a trailblazer in enforcement of such legislation.” Mays stated that “in most situations, a complaint-driven strategy should be a ‘fairly effective’ way to enforce any willing provider laws.”
Stephen Parente, Ph.D., associate professor of finance at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, was quoted in a November 5, 2006 article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune that examined the growing number of high-deductible health plans being offered to employees. The article states that many employers are now offering three or four variations of high-deductible health plans. Parente notes that “a plan’s price tag is [a] major variation.” He adds that the University of Minnesota lost nearly 700 high-deductible plan enrollees between 2005 and 2006 because the University offered a smaller contribution to an employee’s HRA.
Bruce Stuart, Ph.D., professor of drug therapy and aging at the University of Maryland-Baltimore, was quoted in an October 27, 2006 article in the Detroit News examined Wal-Mart’s plan to offer $4 generic prescription drugs. The article details Wal-Mart’s success in its new plan in several states, noting that “the deal already had kicked off a flurry of competition in Michigan and elsewhere.” Stuart cautions that “the devil is in the details… the offerings may be very limited or they could be on select drugs that weren’t very expensive in the first place.”
