November 4, 2009
The Contra Costa Times quoted SPPD Professor Glenn Melnick in an article about Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center acquiring a minority interest in EPIC Management, a Redlands-based physician group management company. The financial performance of medical groups has weakened in the least 18 months, and as a result many are seeking buyers, Melnick said.
October 23, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle quoted SPPD Professor James Ferris in a story about a $100 million gift received by Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. "It's unusual partly because there's so few of those large gifts happening today," Ferris said. "A few years ago, it wouldn't have been that unusual." Ferris is director of the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy.
October 15, 2009
Dana Goldman, a professor with the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development, has been named to the Institute of Medicine -- one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. Goldman directs the newly-created Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
October 12, 2009
American Public Media's "Marketplace" interviewed Professor Dana Goldman about current health care reform efforts. "This is a rather historic effort to provide insurance to most Americans. But this is not an effort to do anything on cost containment," said Goldman, director of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. Rather than being paid based on the quantity of services they provide, doctors should be rewarded for using treatments that save money and lives, Goldman added. "If the patient does well, then the hospital gets paid, the doctor gets paid," Goldman said. "And if the patient doesn't do well, then they're going to have to bear the cost. And ultimately, that would've been a really valuable change."
October 8, 2009
The Los Angeles Times cited a study led by SPPD Teaching Associate Professor LaVonna Lewis which found that one in three grocery stores in low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods often sells expired food. "It's a quality question," Lewis said. "Shouldn't people have access to fresh, healthy foods no matter where they live? It's also a resource question. If you have limited resources, aren't those resources used less effectively if the food you purchase in your neighborhood is quickly out of date?" Future studies will try to determine whether expired food products are found more often in low-income areas, Lewis said.
September 29, 2009
La Opinion cited a study led by SPPD Teaching Associate Professor LaVonna Lewis which found that one in three grocery stores in low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods often sell expired food. Over the course of a year, data was collected during regular visits to supermarkets. In 18 percent of purchases, three products were found unfit for human consumption. We try to give people access to healthy food, and quality food can be found no matter what part of the city a person lives in, Lewis said.
September 29, 2009
ABC News cited a study led by SPPD Teaching Associate Professor Lavonna Lewis which found that one in three grocery stores in low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods often sells expired food. But the researchers also found expired food on shelves in "the posh suburbs along the beaches to the west of Los Angeles," the story stated. "It's an issue that is more widely distributed than I had thought," Lewis said. While some expired food is sold at a "manager's special" discount, Lewis said she isn't 100 percent convinced that the food is safe. "We don't think people are making informed choices, because the information is so hard to find," she explained. "The consequences may be greater in south Los Angeles because of a low health status."
September 25, 2009
A USC study has found a good reason to check the expiration date on market foods. Researchers, working with residents in lower-income areas of Los Angeles, counted at least one expired poultry, beef or dairy product in about a third of the store visits made over a one-year period. USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor LaVonna Lewis presented some of the project's data at the 2009 California REACH US Conference.
September 24, 2009
Dana Goldman, a widely respected expert in health economics, has been named director of the new Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC, according to an announcement from USC Executive Vice President and Provost C. L. Max Nikias. Goldman most recently served as director of the RAND Corp.'s Health Economics, Finance and Organization Division.
September 23, 2009
A major new research center focused on health policy and economics has been established at USC, Executive Vice President and Provost C. L. Max Nikias announced. The center is funded by a $1.2 million operating gift from health care industry leader Leonard D. Schaeffer and his wife, Pamela. The Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics is a collaboration between the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the USC School of Pharmacy.
September 21, 2009
The Sacramento Bee quoted Professor Glenn Melnick on whether the current health care reform proposals will curb escalating medical costs. The proposed plans contain vague notions of improving efficiency and increasing competition, Melnick said. However, there's no guarantee that a government-run insurance plan or other overhaul proposals will bring costs down, he added.
September 11, 2009
American Public Media's "Marketplace" interviewed Associate Professor Darius Lakdawalla about the hidden costs of employer-provided health care. "They'll go to the drug store, they'll get charged 20 bucks or 40 bucks for their prescriptions. Those kinds of things employees are going to tend to know about," Lakdawalla said. "Oftentimes, they don't really know how much the employer is paying for the health insurance premium." Lakdawalla is director of research at the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
September 9, 2009
Richard Callahan, associate dean and director of leadership programs at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, has been appointed to a newly formed advisory board for the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Toxic Substances Control.
August 24, 2009
The Columbus Dispatch quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about the White House indicating that it would accept a health care bill without a public option. This has infuriated liberal Democrats who supported Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, the story stated. "These guys on the left invested an awful lot in Barack Obama, and I think they feel as if they own a piece of him," Jeffe said. "He's not delivering from their perspective."
June 8, 2009
A group of 150 USC alumni and prominent Trojans gathered at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on May 21 to hear a panel of experts assess the early accomplishments of the Obama administration and offer their prognosis for its future.
May 27, 2009
Four USC students - including three from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development - have won the Clinton-Orfalea Fellowships. The fellows will head to New York in August to lend their talents to the William J. Clinton Foundation, which addresses issues of global climate change, HIV and AIDS in the developing world as well as childhood obesity, and economic opportunity and development.
April 28, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Professor Glenn Melnick about America's preparedness for a potential swine flu outbreak. "There's been a lot more planning, so we're better prepared than we've ever been," said Melnick, holder of the Blue Cross of California Chair in Health Care Finance. "We haven't really seen the budget cuts hit yet," he added. "Next year, we might have a problem." In case of a pandemic, health care workers have been trained to report to work, he added. "There's been a lot more planning and training within health care organizations so people understand the risks and they don't panic unnecessarily and they will report for work."
April 23, 2009
The The Riverside Press-Enterprise quoted Professor Glenn Melnick about hospitals' dependence on Medicare reimbursements. On average, about 55 percent of a hospital's revenue comes from federal reimbursements, Melnick said. A hospital that loses Medicare funding is also likely to lose private insurance contracts, the other main source of hospital revenue, the story noted. "That is usually a death knell for a hospital," he said.
April 17, 2009
The St. Petersburg Times highlighted a presentation that Professor Glenn Melnick delivered at the Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Seattle. Total United States health spending in 2007 was $2.24 trillion, Melnick noted.
March 25, 2009
Foundations and Public Policy: Leveraging Philanthropic Dollars, Knowledge and Networks for Greater Impact, a new book edited and co-authored by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development faculty, explores the implications -- and potential impact -- involving the efforts of nonprofit organizations to shape public policy.
March 6, 2009
La Opinion quoted Professor Glenn Melnick about Los Angeles' Pacific Hospital reportedly seeking bankruptcy protection. If the hospital closes, 80 percent of patients who receive care under public assistance programs like MediCal would have to move elsewhere in the San Fernando Valley for services, Melnick said.
January 26, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development marked its 80th anniversary by hosting a special colloquium Jan. 16 at the Davidson Conference Center. During the conference, Dean Jack H. Knott noted that SPPD remains dedicated to advancing academic theory and making a vital impact in the world.
January 25, 2009
The Monterey County Herald quoted Professor Glenn Melnick about the fiscal state of a medical center in Salinas, Calif. It's unclear whether the hospital can continue its newfound financial viability or is doomed to slip back into critical condition, the story stated. "The question is, 'Are they going to find themselves in the same situation five years from now,'" Melnick said. Melnick is director of the Center for Health Policy and Management at USC, the story noted.
September 8, 2008
Research led by SPPD Professor Howard Greenwald was featured in a United Press International story. Greenwald and colleagues found evidence that sexual enjoyment involves more than hormones, the story reported. The scientists conducted their research on cervical cancer survivors who had had both ovaries removed. The study found that after six years, most survivors' sexual desire and enjoyment rebounds, the story noted.
June 22, 2008
Research by SPPD Prof. Glenn Melnick of the was cited in the Waco Tribune-Herald regarding the effect of health care company mergers on health care costs. Following recent mergers in California, prices have generally risen 10 percent to 30 percent, sometimes within months, Melnick said. Melnick is a health economist for the RAND Corporation, the story noted.
March 23, 2009