The Institute for Public Health names a new center replacing its previous Center for Health Economics & Policy.
Institute for Public Health center transforms by adding research arm, new mission and new name

The Institute for Public Health names a new center replacing its previous Center for Health Economics & Policy.
Co-Director of the Center for Health Economics & Policy, Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, weighs in on protections of personal medical information.
An article co-authored by Center for Health Economics & Policy co-Director, Timothy McBride, PhD, has been published in the Journal of Rural Health.
Faculty Scholar and co-Director of the Center for Health Economics & Policy, Timothy McBride, PhD, is quoted as an expert on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in this Talking Points Memo article.
Center for Health Economics & Policy co-Director, Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, and team have published a study on a voluntary Medicare Alternative Payment Model and how it impacts high-risk beneficiaries.
The 15th Institute for Public Health Annual Conference, “Health as a Human Right” centered on how a lack of human rights can affect our health, among other themes.
Read more about the current state of anti-transgender legislation as summarized by MPH candidate, Ola Adebayo.
The Center for Health Economics and Policy is working with the Missouri Department of Health to highlight potential funding sources that will help strengthen mental health services across Missouri.
Timothy D. McBride, PhD, MS, the Bernard Becker Professor at the Brown School and Co-director of the Center for Health Economics & Policy at the Institute for Public Health describes the latest efforts to implement Medicaid expansion.
The 2020 election is well underway and health policy seems to have dominated the debate so far, in many ways. This has surprised some people, and it is raising some worries among Democratic strategists. It is also frustrating many analysts who study health policy, who find that the “debate” is missing the mark. But the […]
Medicare Payment Policy and the Problem of Social Risk: Reflection
Written by Brianna Cusanno, graduate student at University of South Florida & alumna of the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program When I entered the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Track in June 2015, I was a college junior with little interest research as a career. Four years […]
New Medicare reimbursement rules provide some relief to safety-net hospitals, shifting the burden of financial penalties toward hospitals serving wealthier patient populations, according to a new study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The new rules also reduce the burden of such penalties on hospitals in states that have more generous […]
A “Friday Nighter” with Missouri State Representative Deborah Lavender By Emily Davis, MD/MPH Student at Washington University “What is the one thing you want to get done this year?” That is the question Missouri State Representative Deb Lavender (D) posed to a group of students, faculty, and members of the community at a recent Friday […]
Written by Akua Nuako, medical student class of 2021, Washington University in St. Louis I am often awestruck by the ingenuity of today’s medical advancements. During my first year of medical school, I’ve been captivated by research on promising developments like cancer treatments that only target malignant cells, gene editing that addresses health issues rooted […]
Originally posted by the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, written by Mary Mellem, Gary Parker, and Atia Thurman In October 2017, the Center for Health Economics & Policy at the Institute for Public Health and the Clark-Fox Policy Institute at the Brown School at Washington University hosted Transforming Healthcare in Missouri: Ideas for Innovation and Investment to generate […]
Written by Timothy D. McBride, PhD, MS, co-director for the Center for Health Economics and Policy The effort to “repeal and replace” Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act, ACA) has been a major goal of the Republicans since the ACA was passed. Achieving this goal has been elusive – first President Obama blocked all such efforts, […]
One of the health care issues about which seemingly all Americans agree: Prescription drug prices have skyrocketed. And they keep going higher. How do Americans get better value for their health care dollars? Read the full story…
Written by Mary Politi, PhD, professor in the School of Medicine At the time of publishing, Mary Politi was an associate professor in the School of Medicine At an enrollment event in 2015, I met a woman from a rural county in Missouri who was an outspoken supporter of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She […]
Written by Barbara Baumgartner, PhD, director of Undergraduate Studies, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and associate director of Washington University Prison Education Project The United States incarcerates more of it citizens per capita than any other country in the world. Since most prisons are located away from urban centers, the magnitude of the problem is […]
It comes as no surprise that healthcare is expensive. Anyone who has been to a doctor may recall being charged a co-pay, receiving bills for lab work or paying for appointments not covered by insurance. And all of this likely is on top of paying your health insurance premiums. Read the full story…
Written by Amanda Lee, MPH, public health research coordinator, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program alumna When I started the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program in 2015, I had never worked in public health research before. As an undergraduate, I worked in […]
Written by Brianna Cusanno, Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program alumna Reflecting on the course my life has taken since I participated in the Institute of Public Health’s Summer Research Program, I realize that I now find myself in a position I never would have anticipated two years ago. I knew in June of […]
Written by Courtnie Phillip, BA in International Relations at Tufts University and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program On July 17th, my phone lit up as a notification from the NYTimes app flashed across my screen. The headline read: “The health bill has collapsed with two more G.O.P. senators opposed. For […]
Researchers will use data such as traffic, health and economic measures, as well as information from people who live and work near the proposed North-South and Metro North MetroLink routes, to assess the effects the expansion could have on people’s health. Read the full story…
Written by April Houston, MSW, MPH, communications assistant for the Institute for Public Health Health care reform is in the news again (some would say it never left), as Republicans in the Senate have introduced a new bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law in 2010. Under the House’s […]
Written by Carmen Lyon, undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program Growing up in the age of the Affordable Care Act, millennials have difficulty imagining a time when healthcare policy and law were not at the forefront of the national stage. Even with the […]
Written by Mary Schaefer, executive director of the Mid-East Area Agency on Aging Missouri advocates are needed for seniors and senior programs. This past session of the Missouri legislature has clearly shown the need for our legislators and public officials to hear from their constituents about the value of seniors and the services that support […]
Rachel Sachs, associate professor, School of Law, is a scholar of innovation policy whose work explores the interaction of intellectual property law, food and drug regulation, and health law and identifies potential problems and solutions that lie at the intersection of these fields. We recently checked in with Professor Sachs to see what she’s currently working […]
Written by John Hickey, Missouri Chapter Director, Sierra Club In April 2016, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released “The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States.” This report pointed out that climate change was not just a distant threat to human health, nor just an issue in less-developed countries that […]
Written by Taylor Hale, Campaign Organizer with Environment Missouri for the Defending Climate Progress Campaign Climate change is the biggest issue of our time. 2016 was the hottest year on record and the third consecutive year to set a new temperature high. In the Unites States, the burning of fossil fuels – oil, coal, and […]
Cigarette ads have long been absent from television, radio and billboards in the United States due to federal bans. But that doesn’t mean the tobacco industry isn’t pitching its products to potential buyers.
Written by Richard Grucza, PhD, MPE, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine My colleagues and I have long been interested in policies that restrict young peoples’ legal access to alcohol and tobacco. We’ve learned that restricting drinking or smoking during the teen years has long term benefits such […]
I recently returned to Washington University after a yearlong stint as the American Public Health Association’s Public Health Fellow in Government in Washington D.C. While there, I worked as congressional staff for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York). This fellowship offered a chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity to work directly on federal policymaking. While challenging, scary, and sometimes even comical, this experience was […]
Martin Shkreli. Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Mylan. Just a year ago, most Americans devoted little time and attention to the question of pharmaceutical pricing. Now, after a series of highly publicized scandals involving individuals and companies who hike the prices of products like the EpiPen or Daraprim with impunity, public awareness of these issues has dramatically increased […]
Written by Linda Raclin, JD, LLM, senior lecturer professor at the Brown School In a growing number of cities and counties across America, being poor is itself a crime. As many of us in the St. Louis region witnessed during the civil unrest in Ferguson, individuals and minorities in low-income communities are often targeted for […]
Written by Susan Stepleton PhD, chair of the policy specialization at the Brown School When I mention to someone that I work at the Brown School, a typical assumption – voiced or unvoiced – is “Oh, you teach about poverty or epidemiology or child welfare or LGBTQ issues or homelessness.” Well, yes, of course we […]
Written by Elizabeth Sepper, JD, associate professor in the School of Law Six years ago, a little known provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—Section 1557—marked the first time that federal law prohibited sex discrimination in federally funded health programs. This summer, a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule made clear […]
The Center for Health Economics and Policy (CHEP) has become a Core eligible for funding through the Just-In-Time (JIT) Core Usage Funding Program, offered by the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS). This program is designed to provide quick access to funding to utilize technical assistance available through ICTS-affiliated Cores, including CHEP, to support research advancing […]
The Center for Health Economics and Policy (CHEP) pilot program announces funding for two projects in the inaugural round of funding from CHEP. The funding for these year-long projects begins on September 1, 2016. Correlates of Enactment of State Legislation Related to HPV Vaccines PI: Amy Eyler Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted […]
The Center for Community Health Partnership and Research is supporting the fast moving initiative Tobacco 21/STL. Support includes getting the word out to community-based organizations and community members concerned about the health risks for kids and young adults related to tobacco use. Tobacco 21/STL is a movement spreading across the state of Missouri. Kansas City and Columbia, […]
In 1997, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) undertook the development of national standards to provide organizations and providers with guidance on the implementation of culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Three years later, the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (CLAS) were entered into the Federal Register [1]. […]
Written by Bobbi J. Carothers, PhD, statistical data analyst III at the Brown School; Amar Dhand, MD, DPhil, adjunct assistant in the Department of Neurology at the School of Medicine; and Douglas Luke, PhD, Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy at the Brown School Networks are ubiquitous. They are complex systems that we can […]
Health disparities has been an important topic for public health researchers for years, with much or most of the focus on disparities across racial groups in the US, where we see wide disparities on almost every outcome measure. In the St. Louis area and region, health disparities remains a critical topic where if anything the […]
Written by William F. Tate, the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis “My ear hurts.” “It’s hard to breathe.” “I feel afraid and it won’t go away.” Imagine learning to read or doing a science project with otitis media or asthma. Picture taking a major exam […]
For the Sake of All recently released an “Evidence in Action” update, detailing the progress that has been made since the release of its signature report eighteen months ago. The initiative began in 2013 as an effort to investigate the health and well-being of African Americans in the St. Louis region, with an eye toward […]
Written by April Houston, MSW/MPH, graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis Progress on HIV/AIDS has been substantial in the last 15 years, thanks to increased attention and funding to combat its spread. It is important to review the past to determine best practices for our present and future. The first cases of HIV […]
Washington University in St. Louis has announced the launch of the Center for Health Economics and Policy (CHEP), to be housed in the Institute for Public Health. The goal of the new center is to improve population health in America by encouraging health policy and economics research and dissemination. The center will be co-directed by […]
Tobacco has been a global industry for more than a century. But in the era of corporate social responsibility, how do tobacco companies justify their push to sell even more cigarettes around the world? Trade agreements like the currently proposed Trans Pacific Partnership make it easier for tobacco corporations to flood markets in low- and […]