Haiden A. Huskamp, PhD, is an associate professor of health care policy, with a specialty in economics. Her research is focused in three primary areas: the economics of the pharmaceutical industry, the economics of mental health and substance abuse (MH/SA) treatment, and the financing of end-of-life-care services.

Dr. Huskamp has developed a body of research on the impact of pharmacy management tools used to control drug costs on drug utilization, cost, and quality of care. She is a current recipient of a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health focused on the economics of psychotropic medications. Through this award, she has examined the impact of three-tier prescription drug formularies on cost and utilization patterns for drugs used to treat mental illness; the effect of generic entry of antidepressant medications on drug sales, market share, and advertising and promotional strategies of antidepressant manufacturers; and the implications of the Medicare Part D drug benefit for access to psychotropic medications, psychotropic drug pricing, and incentives for future psychotropic innovation. Through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award, Dr. Huskamp is currently examining the social value of psychotropic drug innovation.

Dr. Huskamp recently assessed the effect of implementing comprehensive MH/SA parity in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program on MH/SA costs, service use, and the likelihood of receiving appropriate MH/SA treatment. She has published several papers on the impact of managed care carve-outs for MH/SA services on utilization patterns, costs, and quality of care.

Dr. Huskamp’s recent work on end-of-life-care financing includes a study of patient-level variation in hospice costs, research on factors that influence the decision to use hospice care among terminally ill cancer patients, and an examination of differences in hospice utilization patterns for institutionalized individuals compared with those who reside at home. She served as a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Care for Children Who Die and Their Families.

Dr. Huskamp received her BA in public policy from Duke University and her PhD in health policy with a concentration in economics from Harvard University.