Research Papers
Below is a list of my research papers. Click on each one for more information. You can also download a BibTeX file of citation information for all of them by clicking here.
Working Papers and Works in Progress
Administrative Burden and Consolidation in Health Care: Evidence from Medicare Contractor Transitions
Working Paper, Link
Takeaway: After being exposed to higher claim denial rates following a change in the contractor processing their Medicare claims, providers invest in billing technology, bill more effectively, and consolidate into larger practices, increasing total Medicare spending and lowering firm profits.
Measuring Clinical Effectiveness in Practice: Evidence from EPO in Dialysis
with Paul Eliason, Ben Heebsh, Ryan McDevitt, and Jimmy Roberts
Revise & Resubmit at American Economic Review, Link
Takeaway: A switch from fee-for-service to a bundled payment led dialysis care providers to dramatically reduce the use of a controversial drug, which we show causes adverse events in patients and is less effective than estimates from clinical trials would suggest.
Ambulance Taxis: The Impact of Regulation and Litigation on Health Care Fraud
with Paul Eliason, Jetson Leder-Luis, Ryan McDevitt, and Jimmy Roberts
Revise & Resubmit at Journal of Political Economy, Link
Takeaway: Administrative actions have a much larger impact on health care fraud than targeted criminal and civil enforcement in the context of non-emergent ambulance services for dialysis patients.
Gaming and Effort in Performance Pay
with Luca Bertuzzi, Paul Eliason, Ben Heebsh, Ryan McDevitt, and Jimmy Roberts
Working Paper, Link
Takeaway: Dialysis firms respond to the prospect of penalties for low quality care by both avoiding patients who would otherwise hurt their scores and—depending on their financial incentives—by exerting effort to improve care quality.
Regulation and Diffusion of Innovation Under Information Spillovers: The Case of New Medical Procedures
Work in Progress, Contact for Draft
Takeaway: Information gained by physicians with exogenous incentives to adopt new medical procedures spills over to later-adopting physicians, contributing to the wider adoption of successful (and deadoption of unsuccessful) innovations. Medicare coverage policies can drive these adoption patterns.
Published Papers
Early-Life Shocks and Childhood Social Programs: Evidence of Catch-Up in Brazil
with Dylan Fitz
Published in Journal of Development Studies, 2023, Published Version, Working Paper Version
Takeaway: Brazil’s Bolsa Família program improves child health and is most effective among children whose in utero conditions predisposed them to worse health outcomes.
Rogers’ Diffusion Theory of Innovations Applied to the Adoption of Sugammadex in a Nationwide Sample of Hospitals in the United States
with Kathryn Pearson, Michael Kent, Ryan McDevitt, Matthew Fuller, Rong Jiang, Steve Melton, Vijay Krishnamoorthy, Tetsu Ohnuma, Raquel Bartz, Julien Cobert, and Karthik Raghunathan
Published in British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2023, Link
Takeaway: There is a bell-shaped distribution of the timing of adoption of a new anaesthesia drug, creating opporunities for learning about the causal effect of the drug.
Assessment of Health Care Spending Among Privately Insured Patients Initiating Dialysis Care
with Paul Eliason, Ryan McDevitt, Jimmy Roberts, and Heather Wong
Published in JAMA Network Open, 2022, Link
Takeaway: Total health care spending increases by roughly $14,000 per month when privately insured enrollees start dialysis.
Variability of Prices Paid for Hemodialysis by Employer-Sponsored Insurance in the US, 2012-2019
with Paul Eliason, Ryan McDevitt, Jimmy Roberts, and Heather Wong
Published in JAMA Network Open, 2022, Link
Takeaway: The price paid by private insurers for dialysis is more than six times the Medicare rate, and in some states the private price is much higher.
School, Shocks, and Safety Nets: Can Conditional Cash Transfers Protect Human Capital Investments During Rainfall Shocks?
with Dylan Fitz
Published in Journal of Development Studies, 2021, Published Version, Working Paper Version
Takeaway: Positive rainfall shocks cause lower-income children in Brazil to substitute away from schooling and toward paid labor, but the Bolsa Família program acts as a partial safety net that stabilizes human capital investments during short-run shocks.
The Impact of Early-Life Shocks on Adult Welfare in Brazil: Questions of Measurement and Timing
with Dylan Fitz
Published in Economics & Human Biology, 2020, Published Version, Working Paper Version
Takeaway: Early-life rainfall shocks can cause negative consequences into adulthood, but researchers should pay more attention to specific measurement and timing choices.