Path to more effective competition in health care is topic at Rice’s Baker Institute Dec. 8

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

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

Path to more effective competition in health care is topic at Rice’s Baker Institute Dec. 8

HOUSTON – (Dec. 2, 2014) – Dr. William Sage, a nationally recognized health policy researcher, will speak at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Dec. 8 and discuss how policymakers and health care providers can partner to redefine the products and services that will give the most value to patients. This Baker Institute Health Policy Forum event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Who: Dr. William Sage, the James R. Dougherty Chair for Faculty Excellence at the University of Texas School of Law.

Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and director of the Health Policy Forum, will provide introductory remarks.

What: A lecture titled “Rethinking the Product: A Path to More Effective Competition in Health Care.”

When: Monday, Dec. 8. Reception will be at 4:30 p.m.; Sage’s lecture will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Rice University, Kelly International Conference Facility, 6100 Main St.

Hospitals, physicians and insurance companies are reorganizing and consolidating in response to health care reform, according to event organizers. To the detriment of consumers, these changes could increase the market power of insurers and health care providers and lead some people to call for more rigorous enforcement of antitrust regulations. Sage believes that antitrust actions may fail because the services that insurers and providers deliver are not the services that a truly competitive market would generate in response to consumer demand. Encouraging new forms of competition may improve quality and safety while lowering the price of health care, organizers said.

Health Policy Forum members include Baylor College of Medicine, Madison Benefits Group Inc., CHI St. Luke’s Health, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Community Health Choice, the Episcopal Health Foundation, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Troy and Ellen Fiesinger and Cullen Geiselman.

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.

The public must register to attend this event at http://bakerinstitute.org/events/register/1684/?submit=RSVP.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 15 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://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.