Ippolito Appointed to MedPAC

I am thrilled to announce that AEI Senior Fellow and health economist Dr. Benedic Ippolito has been appointed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Dr. Ippolito will bring great policy expertise to MedPAC. His current research is focused on a variety of topics in health economics, including the pharmaceutical market, Medicare Advantage, provider pricing, and the role of health care costs in Americans’ personal finances. His articles have been published in leading academic and policy journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and Health Affairs . He frequently testifies before Congress and is a trusted adviser on the Hill. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He will bring this expertise and a broad knowledge of the Medicare program to his role at MedPAC. MedPAC plays an important role in shaping Medicare policy. In its own words : MedPAC is an independent congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33) to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program (Appendix B). MedPAC advises the Congress on payments to providers in Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program and to private health plans participating in Medicare Advantage (MA) and provides information on beneficiaries’ access to care, quality of care, and other issues affecting Medicare beneficiaries and providers. . . To fulfill our charge of informing and advising the Congress on the Medicare program, MedPAC publishes a number of products each year: two standing mandated annual reports, comment letters on CMS’s proposed regulations, compilations of data and statistics on the Medicare program, and summaries of Medicare payment systems. . . The Commission plays an important role in Congress’s policy development process. MedPAC develops policy ideas through statutory mandates, congressional interest, commissioner interest, and our analytic staff. To support such policy development, the Commission conducts data analysis through both public and private data sources, primary source data collection, and research through contracts. My colleagues and I congratulate Ben and are grateful for his leadership and for his willingness to take on this important role. The post Ippolito Appointed to MedPAC appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI .