Nancy Kane

Nancy M. Kane, DBA has been a leader in educational programs, a highly acclaimed teacher skilled in leading case-based discussions, a researcher focused on the financial and strategic behavior of health care organizations, and an advisor to federal and state agencies as well as other key actors involved in designing policies to address health care affordability and accountability.

Educational Leadership
Dr Kane co-founded and directed the Master in Health Care management program, an executive leadership program created for mid-career physicians leading health care organizations. Prior to that she was the Program director for the MPH in Management within the Department of Health Policy and Management. For nine years she served as Associate Dean involved in advancing the quality of education at the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health. She designed, directed, and co-taught executive programs on case-based teaching for faculty in public health and medicine from the US and other countries. She continues to work with the Association of Schools of Public Health and other educational bodies to develop faculty teaching skills.

Teaching
Dr Kane won numerous teaching awards for teaching health care management courses in the areas of financial accounting and analysis, payment systems, and organizational strategy in MPH and MHCM programs. She also taught short courses in management development programs in England, Ireland, Egypt, South Africa, and Italy. She wrote or oversaw the writing of over 25 cases in management and public health.

Public Health Practice
Dr. Kane is currently on the Board of UMass Memorial Health, where she is also Chair of the Finance Committee. Over the past 30 years she served on six other boards involved in various health care activities. She was a Commissioner on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission for two terms, and served on the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General Task Force on Community Benefit and a Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System for the state Health and Human Services agency. She continues to work with state and federal agencies, advocacy groups, unions, foundations, and journalists to bring financial literacy into the making of public policy, purchasing decisions, and media stories describing the behavior of health care organizations.

Research
Dr Kane has pursued a broad interest in the financial and managerial performance of health care organizations for over 40 years. Recent projects include developing and applying financial metrics of health system performance that are useful for public policymakers; assessing the impact of high commercial prices on health system financial performance; and providing technical assistance to states developing financial reporting requirements for hospitals and health systems. Most of her funding is from foundations and foundation-funded organizations.