Michael E. Chernew, PhD is a Professor of Health Care Policy in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Chernew’s research examines several areas related to controlling health care spending growth while maintaining or improving the quality of care. His work on consumer incentives focuses on Value Based Insurance Design (VBID), which aligns patient cost sharing with clinical value. Several large companies have adopted these approaches and Dr. Chernew’s ongoing work includes evaluations and design of such programs. His work on payment reform involves evaluation of bundled payment initiatives, including global payment models that include pay-for-performance components. Related research examines the effects of changes in Medicare Advantage payment rates. Additional research explores the causes and consequences of rising health care spending and geographic variation in spending, spending growth, and quality.
Dr. Chernew received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD in economics from Stanford University, where his training focused on areas of applied microeconomics and econometrics. He is the Co-Editor of the American Journal of Managed Care and Senior Associate Editor of Health Services Research. Dr. Chernew has served on the Editorial Boards of Health Affairs and Medical Care Research and Review. Dr. Chernew is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Chernew is Vice Chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), which is an independent agency established to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. He is also a member of the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisors and The Commonwealth Foundation’s Commission on a High Performance Health Care System. In 2000, 2004 and 2010, he served on technical advisory panels for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that reviewed the assumptions used by the Medicare actuaries to assess the financial status of the Medicare trust funds. On the panels, Chernew focused on the methodology used to project trends in long-term health care cost growth. In 2011, he served on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Determination of Essential Health Benefits. In 1998, he was awarded the John D. Thompson Prize for Young Investigators by the Association of University Programs in Public Health. In 1999, he received the Alice S. Hersh Young Investigator Award from the Association of Health Services Research. Both of these awards recognize overall contribution to the field of health services research. His 2008 article in Health Affairs, “Impact of Decreasing Copayments on Medication Adherence within Disease Management Program,” was awarded the Research Award from the National Institute for Health Care Management. In 2010, Chernew was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences.
Learn more about Dr. Chernew's work by viewing the following featured news article on 4/10/12, 12/13/11, 8/12/08 and news briefs on 1/28/13, 1/16/13, 12/5/12, 11/4/12, 9/30/12, 8/14/12, 6/29/12, 6/18/12, 6/13/12, 6/8/12, 5/30/12, 10/12/10, 4/28/10, 2/15/10, 12/22/09, 12/17/09, 9/23/09, 6/22/09, 6/10/09 and 2/25/08.