The Program in Health Care Financing seeks to develop a systematic framework for the evaluation of health systems, as well as perform interdisciplinary research focusing on the relationship between economic development and health. The Program has a small core staff and operates through collaborations with investigators elsewhere at Harvard and at other sites throughout the world.
The Director of the Program is William C. Hsiao, the K.T. Li Professor of Economics at the Harvard School of Public Health. A renown economist with decades of international experience in designing and implementing national health system reforms, Professor Hsiao is also a very appreciated teacher and mentor. He has advised many doctoral students at the school and is the recipient of multiple teaching awards.
His research is focused on payment methods for hospitals and physicians in the context of national health insurance programs. Examples of his work include development of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale, and leadership of an ongoing social experiment in China, funded by the Gates Foundation with the goal of reforming rural health care in that country. The latter project involves the design and introduction of universal health insurance, integration of the currently fragmented health care delivery system, and reform of the payment system to remunerate providers based on capitation and performance. More information about Professor Hsiao's current research can be found on the Projects page.
Winnie Chi-Man Yip is an associate Professor who directs an inter-disciplinary study to examine the dynamic social, cultural, psychological and economic determinants of health and well-being in rural China.
