Health Insurance Provision for Vulnerable Populations

简介(由申请人提供)：我在医学和经济学方面的训练使我对卫生经济学的各种主题产生了兴趣。我在研究生院的最初研究包括日本卫生经济回归医生专业化，以及医院采用技术等主题。自从成为一名专业经济学家以来，我的兴趣主要集中在保险市场对弱势群体的影响上。这项申请的议程聚焦于两个不同保险市场的两个不同的弱势群体：依赖二级人寿保险市场为其福利提供资金的HIV+患者；以及依赖联邦医疗保险提供护理的残疾人。最重要的主题是，对保险经济学的详细理解将有助于指导能够最好地帮助这些人口的政策。 在接下来的五年里，有两个项目将覆盖我的大部分时间。第一个是建立在NIH资助的一个项目的基础上的，该项目始于2003年9月，旨在利用人寿保险的二级市场作为一种工具，探索慢性疾病人群(如艾滋病毒患者)市场行为的扭曲。第二个项目建立在NIH通过NBER资助的一个项目的基础上，将于2004年夏天开始，是关于残疾、慢性病和医疗保险未来的研究。 拟议的奖项将为我提供重要的机会，让我从事与上述研究直接和间接相关的研究。它将让我有时间和灵活性在三个不同的领域发展我的职业生涯：(1)了解并制定医疗保健行为经济学的研究议程；(2)获得担任项目首席研究员的经验；(3)获得与我的研究领域相关的大型且未得到充分利用的数据库的专业知识。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): My training in medicine and in economics has led me to interests in a wide variety of topics in health economics. My initial research in graduate school encompassed topics such as the Japanese health economy returns to specialization for doctors, and technology adoption by hospitals. Since becoming a professional economist, my interests have focused mainly on the effects of insurance markets on vulnerable populations. The agenda for this application focuses on two different vulnerable populations in two different insurance markets: HIV+ patients who depend on secondary life insurance markets to finance their wellbeing; and the disabled who depend on Medicare for their care. The overarching theme is that a detailed understanding of the economics of insurance will help guide policies that can best help these populations. Two projects will cover much of my time over the next five years. The first, which builds upon an NIH funded project that began in Sep. 2003, aims to use the secondary market in life insurance as a vehicle to explore distortions in market behavior of chronically ill populations, such as those with HIV disease. The second, which builds upon an NIH funded program project through the NBER, and will begin in summer 2004, is a study of disability, chronic disease, and the future of Medicare. The proposed award will provide important opportunities to me to pursue research both directly and indirectly related to the above studies. It will allow me the time and flexibility to develop my career in three different areas: (1) learn about and develop a research agenda in the behavioral economics of health care; (2) gain experience serving as a principal investigator on projects; and (3) gain expertise with large and underused databases relevant to my research area.