health economics

SPEAKER SERIES

Economic Policies and Maternal and Infant Health

Maternal mortality in the US is more than four times higher than that of Germany and Sweden and nearly three times higher that that of the UK. Further, the rate of maternal mortality in the US is rising, having nearly doubled over the past three decades. Even when mortality is avoided, more than 60,00 women per year experience severe maternal morbidity, unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery with significant short- or long-term consequences to the woman's health. 

Join us for talks at ISER from three finalists for ISER’s health economics post doctoral researcher position. Bita Fayaz, Ph.D. candidate from Lehigh University, will present, “How was Medical Care Utilization Affected by the Medicaid Primary Care Fee Bump,” on Monday, January 28, at 12 p.m.  Bita is an applied microeconomist with a specialization in health economics. Her research examines how individuals respond to incentives in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and how insurance and policy interventions influence the use of medical care. 

Health-care spending in Alaska reached about $7.5 billion in 2010, according to new estimates by Scott Goldsmith of ISER and Mark Foster of Mark A. Foster and Associates. For comparison, that’s close to half the wellhead value of all the oil produced in Alaska in 2010. The definition of health-care spending is broad, including not only spending for hospitals, doctors, and medical tests, but also prescriptions, nursing homes, medical equipment, and more.

The researchers found: