Health & Veritas Katherine Baicker: Rigorous Thinking about Hard Problems
Oct 19, 2023
Katherine Baicker, a renowned health economist and University of Chicago provost, dives into her groundbreaking work on the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment. She explains the importance of randomized evidence for Medicaid evaluation and discusses the mixed outcomes, highlighting increased access but limited improvements in physical health. Baicker also examines workplace wellness programs and makes a case for a Medicaid-for-all approach to universal healthcare. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes the value of presenting nuanced findings to inform public policy.
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Lottery Created A Clean Test Of Medicaid
- The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment used a lottery to create a randomized comparison between Medicaid recipients and the uninsured.
- That design isolated insurance effects from confounders and produced nuanced, policy-relevant results.
Nuanced Evidence Gets Politicized
- The Oregon findings were mixed and politically weaponized by both sides.
- Baicker emphasizes presenting unbiased evidence so policymakers can weigh costs and benefits.
Coverage Eases Depression And Financial Strain
- Medicaid improved mental health and financial outcomes but not measured physical chronic conditions within two years.
- Lack of short-term physical gains reflects limits of current care delivery, not absence of benefit.
