National health care reform is topic at Rice’s Baker Institute Nov. 8

MEDIA ADVISORY

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

National health care reform is topic at Rice’s Baker Institute Nov. 8

HOUSTON – (Oct. 30, 2019) – Four leading health economists will gather at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Nov. 8 to discuss strategies for slowing the rising cost of health care while improving access to high-quality care in the U.S.

The event, hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences, is free and open to the public. Registration is required at bakerinstitute.org/events/2031.

Who: Speakers Jon Kolstad, associate professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research; Dr. David Chan, assistant professor of medicine at Stanford School of Medicine and investigator at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Michael Geruso, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research; and Fiona Scott Morton, the Theodore Nirenberg Professor of Economics at Yale University.

Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, will give opening and closing remarks. 

What: Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences’ seventh biennial conference on health care reform.

When: Friday, Nov. 8, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Breakfast will be provided at 8 and lunch will be served at noon.

Where: Rice University, James A. Baker III Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

Democratic presidential candidates are proposing dramatic changes to federal and private health insurance coverage for 2021 and beyond. Yet the discussion lacks understanding of why health care has become so expensive, despite the fact that many researchers argue as much as one-third of U.S. spending on health care is wasteful, according to event organizers.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to rice.edu/maps. Media should park in the Central Campus Garage (underground).

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top three university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blog.bakerinstitute.org.   

About Jeff Falk

Jeff Falk is director of national media relations in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.