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 Patient Impact of Manufacturing Copay Assistance in an Era of Rising Out-of-Pocket Costs
This paper measures the impact of manufacturer-provided copay assistance on total out-of-pocket costs, drug utilization, and implications for patient outcomes. Using data dating back to 2015, we find manufacturer-provided copay assistance mitigated the rise in copay...
Peltzman Revisited: Quantifying 21st Century Opportunity Costs of FDA Regulation
This paper revisits Peltzman (1973) in light of two recent opportunities to quantitatively assess tradeoffs in drug regulation. First, reduced regulatory barriers to drug manufacturing associated with the 2017 reauthorization of Generic Drug User Fee Amendments were...
Issue Brief: The Impact of HR 5376 on Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Patient Health
This issue brief reviews the evidence-base to assess the impact of HR 5376 on drug innovation and patient health. A large academic literature estimates the effect of future drug revenues on R&D spending and finds that on average that a 1 percent reduction in...
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In the Press
Ending Pay for PBM Performance: Consequences for Prescription Drug Prices, Utilization, and Government Spending | September 2023
Proposed “delinking” legislation would prohibit Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) from being remunerated based on the rebates and discounts they...
Policy Brief: The Potentially Larger Than Predicted Impact of the IRA on Small Molecule R&D and Patient Health | August 2023
This policy brief analyzes the impact of regulatory and legislative changes within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on medical R&D and patient...
The Value of Medical Innovation in the Fight Against COVID-19 in the United States | August 2023
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...
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!