Events
Virtual, via Zoom
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Organ Diversion or Match Run Deviation? Ethical Considerations in Allocation Out of Sequence" - Andrew M. Courtwright, MD, PhD
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2026-01-27 12:00:00
2026-01-27 13:00:00
America/New_York
Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Organ Diversion or Match Run Deviation? Ethical Considerations in Allocation Out of Sequence" - Andrew M. Courtwright, MD, PhD
Organ Diversion or Match Run Deviation? Ethical Considerations in Allocation Out of Sequence
Andrew M. Courtwright, MD, PhD
Clinician, Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Adjunct Professor, University of Utah Department of Philosophy
University of Utah Health
The rise of Allocation Out of Sequence (AOOS) in organ transplantation in the United States has raised significant ethical concerns. By the end of 2024, 20% of kidneys were transplanted out of the standard match sequence, drawing regulatory scrutiny. Critics argue that AOOS amounts to organ diversion: it fails to prevent organ nonuse, does not address underlying inefficiencies in organ allocation, lacks transparency, and worsens transplant-related disparities.
In this talk, Dr. Courtwright discusses the factors contributing to the expansion of AOOS and evaluates the normative arguments for and against its use. Drawing on a constructivist framework, he argues that AOOS violates the expectation that allocation policies be grounded in collective agreement. Dr. Courtwright identifies considerations that should inform Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network policy revisions, emphasizing the need for shared norms to ensure procedural legitimacy.
Virtual, via Zoom
Penn Medical Ethics
Colonial Penn Center Auditorium
HP X LDI Research Seminar: Riley League, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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2026-01-29 12:00:00
2026-01-29 13:00:00
America/New_York
HP X LDI Research Seminar: Riley League, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Fragmented Insurance and Billing Frictions: Understanding Denied Health Insurance Claims
Open to Penn Affiliates
Please note: Registration for this event is required. Please register here: https://share.hsforms.com/1dAXFMDm7T9CYwjJW6RBjXQ5gwp1.
This event is co-sponsored with the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
Billing and insurance-related activities are a dominant driver of the high administrative costs of the US health care system. However, the economics claim denials—the most visible manifestation of billing frictions—remains poorly understood. We explain why the prevalence of claim denials is an economic puzzle and investigate why denials persist in equilibrium. Using data from the Massachusetts All-Payer Claims Database, we document that denials are prevalent even for private insurers and show that these denials are largely for low-cost, routine services. We then present evidence that insurance fragmentation is a key driver of claim denials: the rate of denials spikes when enrollees change insurers, and different insurers have very different equilibrium denial rates for the same service, suggesting providers do not narrowly tailor their billing across insurers. Together, these findings highlight how fragmented insurance structures and heterogeneous coverage rules can contribute to inefficiency and waste in the U.S. health care system.
Riley League is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gies College of Business. His research interests lie in health economics and industrial organization, with a focus on how administrative burdens shape the delivery, cost, and outcomes of health care in the United States. He also conducts research on the dialysis industry, where he and his coauthors examine the significant influence of financial, regulatory, and legal incentives. He holds a courtesy appointment in the University of Illinois Department of Economics and is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Prior to joining the faculty, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Health and Aging Research at the NBER, following the completion of his PhD in Economics at Duke University in May 2023.
Colonial Penn Center Auditorium
Penn Medical Ethics
Colonial Penn Center Auditorium
HP X CHIBE X LDI Policy Seminar: Liz Fowler, JD, PhD, Former Director of the CMMI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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2026-02-03 12:00:00
2026-02-03 13:00:00
America/New_York
HP X CHIBE X LDI Policy Seminar: Liz Fowler, JD, PhD, Former Director of the CMMI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Registration for this event is required. You can register here: https://share.hsforms.com/1uOsbW5WGR3a83Fluxioe3g5gwp1.
This event is co-sponsored by the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics.
"Health Policy at a Crossroads: Protecting Progress, Building for the Future."
About the Talk: The U.S. health system is experiencing a period of substantial uncertainty, with high stakes for patients, providers, and policymakers. Drawing on more than two decades at the center of U.S. health reform – from playing a role in drafting the Medicare Part D law and the Affordable Care Act to leading the CMS Innovation Center – Liz Fowler examines where U.S. health policy stands today and what comes next. She will explore recent policy developments, including the debate over coverage following historic Medicaid cuts, ongoing uncertainty around ACA subsidies, the continuing challenges facing Medicare, and the future of value-based care. Fowler distills lessons from past reform efforts and outlines a pragmatic agenda for protecting progress while building a stronger, more sustainable health system.
About the Speaker: Dr. Liz Fowler is a nationally recognized expert in federal health policy and a visionary leader with a proven record of success in both public and private sector executive roles. Most recently, Dr. Fowler was Deputy Administrator and Director of the Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In that role, she was responsible for advancing innovative payment and care delivery models in Medicare and Medicaid to promote value-based care on a national scale. Under her leadership, the CMS Innovation Center launched a new strategy focused on accountable care and designed, announced, and administered 37 payment and care delivery reform models impacting nearly 200,000 hospitals, physicians and 57 million patients between 2022 to 2024. These value-based payment models have provided an important testing ground and scaling opportunity for innovative start-ups and health care disrupters.
Prior to leading the Innovation Center, she was Executive Vice President of programs at The Commonwealth Fund and Vice President for Global Health Policy at Johnson & Johnson. In 2011-2012, she served as special assistant to President Obama on health care and economic policy at the National Economic Council to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As Chief Health Counsel at the Senate Finance Committee, she played a major role in the drafting and passage of the ACA in 2010, and she also played a key role drafting the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA).
Dr. Fowler has over 25 years of experience in health policy and health services research. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a law degree (JD) from the University of Minnesota. She is admitted to the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Fowler is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022.
Colonial Penn Center Auditorium
Penn Medical Ethics
Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd, and via Zoom
Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease: "Research Ethics and Policy Implications" - Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH
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2026-02-10 12:00:00
2026-02-10 13:00:00
America/New_York
Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease: "Research Ethics and Policy Implications" - Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH
Sickle Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease: Research Ethics and Policy Implications
Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH
Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology)
Chief, Division of Hematology
Elias Schwartz MD Endowed Chair in Hematology
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes severe anemia, and is associated with debilitating pain, chronic organ injury, and early death. Many advances across biomedical research have not translated to improvements in patient outcomes, however, gene therapy as a potential curative approach has renewed interest and hope.
This presentation will summarize accomplishments in sickle cell disease over time, focusing on ethics and policy implications of newer and potentially transformational therapies, acknowledging continued impediments, and exploring opportunities to further make an impact on this condition.
Registration required; Lunch provided
Streaming available via Zoom.
Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd, and via Zoom
Penn Medical Ethics
CCB 08-031, 8th Floor, 3600 Civic Center Blvd. (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.)
Health Policy Research Seminar: Jamie Daw, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University
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2026-03-12 10:00:00
2026-03-12 11:00:00
America/New_York
Health Policy Research Seminar: Jamie Daw, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University
Dr. Daw is a quantitative health services and policy researcher with expertise in quasi-experimental methods and the analysis of large surveys and administrative datasets. She studies how policies affect the barriers faced by reproductive-aged women and pregnant people in accessing health services, from gaining health insurance to connecting with providers and ultimately, receiving high-quality care. Her current research agenda focuses on how Medicaid policy changes and new health care delivery models can promote improved health care access, quality, and health equity in the year after childbirth. Dr. Daw leads the Postpartum Assessment of Health Survey (PAHS), a first-of-its-kind multi-state follow-up survey on maternal health in the year after birth. She is currently a principal investigator on three federal R01 grants and has received prior support from the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her research has been cited in policy documents and published in leading medical, health services, and policy journals including JAMA, CMAJ, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Health Affairs, and the Journal of Health Policy, Politics and Law. Dr. Daw teaches Empirical Analysis for Health Policy to the full cohort of HPM MPH students each spring.
CCB 08-031, 8th Floor, 3600 Civic Center Blvd. (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.)
Penn Medical Ethics
To be added to MEHP's events listserv, please contact lisa.bailey@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.