Staff Profiles
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Melinda Beeuwkes BuntinWashington Office Codirector, Bing Center for Health Economics; Director, Public-Sector Initiatives, RAND Health EducationPh.D. in health policy, Harvard University; A.B., Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University |
Biography
Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin is a health economist at RAND specializing in the economics of the Medicare program. Her interests also include the individual health insurance market, benefit design and "consumer-directed" health care, and the financing of care for the chronically and seriously ill.
Research Focus
Health economics; health care financing and insurance; medicare; consumer-driven health plans
RAND Research Areas
Recent Projects
- Market for individual health insurance
- Consumer-directed care
- Post-acute care
- Risk selection and risk adjustment
- Financing of care for the disabled and chronically and/or terminally ill
Selected Publications
M. B. Buntin et al., "Consumer-Directed Health Care: Early Evidence About Effects on Cost and Quality", Health Affairs [Web exclusive], 2006
M. B. Buntin et al., "How Much Is Postacute Care Use Affected by Its Availability?", Health Services Research, 40(2), 2005
, "Increased Medicare Expenditures for Physicians' Services: What Are the Causes?", Inquiry, 41(1), 2004
M. B. Buntin et al., "The Role of the Individual Health Insurance Market and Prospects for Change", Health Affairs, 23(6), 2004
M. B. Buntin and A. M. Zaslavsky, "Too Much Ado About Two-Part Models and Transformation? Comparing Methods of Modeling Medicare Expenditures", Journal of Health Economics, 23(3), 2004
Research Focus
Health economics; Health care financing; Medicare; health insurance; health care payment systems and risk adjustment
RAND Research Areas
Recent Projects
- Costs, use, and outcomes of post-acute care
- The role that the market for individual health insurance policies plays in covering the non-poor population
- Determinants of increases Medicare expenditures for physicians services
- The financing of end-of-life care
- The effects of 'consumer-directed' health care on care cost, utilization, and quality.
Selected Publications
Neeraj Sood, Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, José J. Escarce, "Does How Much and How You Pay Matter? Evidence from the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System", Journal of Health Economics, 27(4) 1046-1059, 2008
Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, "Access to Post-Acute Rehabilitation", Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 88(11), 2007
M. Susan Marquis, Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, José J. Escarce, "The Role of Product Design in Consumers' Choices in the Individual Insurance Market", Health Services Research, 42(6) 2194-2223, 2007
Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, Cheryl Damberg, Amelia Haviland, Kanika Kapur, Nicole Lurie, Roland D. McDevitt, M. Susan Marquis, "Consumer-Directed Health Care: Early Evidence About Effects on Cost and Quality", Health Affairs [Web Exclusive], 24, 2006
Biography
Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin is a health economist at RAND specializing in the economics of the Medicare program. Her interests also include the individual health insurance market, benefit design and "consumer-directed" health care, and the financing of care for the chronically and seriously ill.Research Focus
Health economics, health care financing and insurance, medicare, consumer-driven health plans
Recent Projects
- Market for individual health insurance
- Consumer-directed care
- Post-acute care
- Risk selection and risk adjustment
- Financing of care for the disabled and chronically and/or terminally ill
Selected Publications
"Consumer-Directed Health Care: Early Evidence About Effects on Cost and Quality," M. B. Buntin et al., Health Affairs [Web exclusive], Oct 2006
"How Much Is Postacute Care Use Affected by Its Availability?" M. B. Buntin et al., Health Services Research, Vol. 40, No. 2, Apr 2005
"The Role of the Individual Health Insurance Market and Prospects for Change," M. B. Buntin et al., Health Affairs, Vol. 23, No. 6, Nov/Dec 2004
"Too Much Ado About Two-Part Models and Transformation? Comparing Methods of Modeling Medicare Expenditures," M. B. Buntin and A. M. Zaslavsky, Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 23, No. 3, May 2004
"Increased Medicare Expenditures for Physicians' Services: What Are the Causes?" Inquiry, Vol. 41, No. 1, Spring 2004
Recent Media Appearances
Interviews: Knight Ridder; New York Times; Philadelphia Inquirer; Washington Post
Commentary: New England Journal of Medicine
To arrange an interview:
Contact the RAND Office of Media Relations, (703) 413-1100, x5117 or (310) 451-6913, or send an email to media@rand.org.
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