The dominant theory in economics for centuries in the Western world has been the free market system, yet the ability of competitive markets to provide quality care has been a central point of recent debate. Extensive government regulation, though well-intentioned, adversely affects the overall health of Americans, inhibits medical innovation, and demands enormous tax-payer investment. The Initiative on Enabling Choice and Competition in Healthcare delivers cutting edge research on the efficiencies of competitiveness in the healthcare sector to demonstrate that free market forces can and do work to provide innovative, equitable, and high-quality care.
Our Vision
To be the leading university-based research center in free-market healthcare, promoting choice and competition to ensure greater access to existing care and new innovations.
Our Mission
To conduct evidence-based research and analyses on market-based choice and competition in the healthcare sector to lead to better-informed policy recommendations.
Working Papers
The Value of Home Administered over Physician-Administered Alzheimer’s Treatments
This paper assesses the value of take-home Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) treatments over physician-administered ones. We find that shifting from a physician-administered treatment to a home-based one in the US would generate a value of $4.67 billion to $25.51 billion...
The Value of Medical Innovation in the Fight Against COVID-19 in the United States
A longstanding economic literature argues that the total welfare loss of a disease comes not only from the direct effects of the disease itself, but also the costs of preventing the disease. This paper assesses how new medical innovations for COVID-19—specifically...
Non-Covid Excess Deaths, 2020-21: Collateral Damage of Policy Choices?
From April 2020 through at least the end of 2021, Americans died from non-Covid causes at an average annual rate 97,000 in excess of previous trends. Hypertension and heart disease deaths combined were elevated 32,000. Diabetes or obesity, drug-induced causes, and...
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In the Press
Pharma Patents and the American Way of Innovation | WSJ | 12/19/2023
By Tomas J. Philipson Regarding your editorial “Biden Ambushes Pharma Patents” (Dec. 11): The Biden administration has caved to progressive...
Former White House Economic Adviser Discusses Covid Policies at HUEA Event | Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association | 12/01/2023
Former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Tomas J. Philipson discussed Covid policies and his experience in the Trump administration at a...
The Value of Accelerated Medical Device Reimbursement | November 2023
Expediting breakthrough medical device reimbursement has become a recent public policy issue. This paper provides evidence of the value of faster...
2024 ECCHC Supply-Side Economics in Healthcare Conference – Watch Now!
The 2024 ECCHC Supply-side Economics in Healthcare Conference convened both in-person and virtually on Friday, May 3. Watch the full conference, or individual presentations and learn more about the conference here!