Penn Medical Ethics and Health Policy

1104 Blockley Hall (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.)

Health Policy Research Seminar: LJ Ristovskam, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs, University of Texas-Austin

Learn More 2026-01-08 10:00:00 2026-01-08 11:00:00 America/New_York Health Policy Research Seminar: LJ Ristovskam, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs, University of Texas-Austin Co-sponsored by the Opportunity of Health Lab Topic: "The Effects of Nursing Home Staffing on the Quality of Nursing Home Care: Evidence from Employee Absences." About the Talk: Nursing homes provide critical long-term and post-acute care to older adults, yet persistently low care quality remains a pressing policy issue. This talk examines how staffing levels and skill mix affect patient outcomes, using daily employee-level staffing data and day-to-day staffing shocks caused by employee absences. The findings show that increases in staffing—particularly among CNAs and LPNs, as well as more experienced nursing staff—lead to substantial reductions in hospitalizations, mortality, and inpatient spending. About the Speaker: Ljubica Ristovska is an Assistant Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 2023. Prior to joining LBJ, she was a postdoctoral associate at the Tobin Center for Economic Policy at the Economics Department at Yale University. Her research focuses on health economics, particularly understanding and improving allocation of treatments in health care, as well as the organization and productivity of health care teams. She also has ongoing work examining socio-economic determinants of health and medical spending. 1104 Blockley Hall (Note: Virtual attendees can join by accessing this link: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/95740259034.) Penn Medical Ethics

January

13

Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)

Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): "How the Alzheimers Revolution Impacts the Responsible Conduct of Alzheimer’s Research" - Jason Karlawish, MD

Learn More 2026-01-13 12:00:00 2026-01-13 13:00:00 America/New_York Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): "How the Alzheimers Revolution Impacts the Responsible Conduct of Alzheimer’s Research" - Jason Karlawish, MD How the Alzheimers Revolution Impacts the Responsible Conduct of Alzheimer’s Research Jason Karlawish, MD Professor of Medicine, Medical Ethics & Health Policy, and Neurology Co-Director, Penn Memory Center Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases that cause dementia are undergoing a revolution in their definition, diagnosis and treatment. Using biomarker tests, a clinician can accurately determine the disease causing cognitive impairments, and for some patients, prescribe treatments that affect the natural history of the disease. These advances hold great promise for the care of patients. They also present challenges to the responsible conduct of research that enrolls these patients. This talk will review these challenges, with attention to nomenclature, return of research results and the selection of control group in clinical trials. Registration required; Lunch provided. Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

January

27

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

Learn More 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

January

29

Colonial Penn Center Auditorium

HP X LDI Research Seminar: Riley League, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Learn More 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

February

3

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

Learn More 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. 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

February

10

Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd, and via Zoom

Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Sickle Cell Gene Therapy - Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH

Learn More 2026-02-10 12:00:00 2026-02-10 13:00:00 America/New_York Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Sickle Cell Gene Therapy - Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH Sickle Cell Gene Therapy 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 Dr. Thompson has dedicated her career to advocating for bringing cutting-edge treatments and technology to sickle cell disease (SCD) patients locally and globally to help improve their quality of life. She brings hematological expertise as a member of CHOP’s Sickle Cell and Red Cell Disorders Curative Therapy Center (CuRED), which is one of a select group of treatment centers offering gene therapies to treat SCD. Her clinical research on the lentiviral vector therapy lovotibeglogene autotemcel for severe sickle cell disease also led to the approvals of the first two gene therapies for SCD. More detail to follow. Registration required; Lunch provided Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd, and via Zoom Penn Medical Ethics

March

10

Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom)

Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Individualized Genetic Interventions - Rebecca Ahrens-Niklas, MD, PhD + Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH

Learn More 2026-03-10 12:00:00 2026-03-10 13:00:00 America/New_York Research Ethics & Policy Series (REPS): Individualized Genetic Interventions - Rebecca Ahrens-Niklas, MD, PhD + Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH Individualized Genetic Interventions Rebecca Ahrens-Niklas, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH Barry J. Gertz Professor for Translational Research Director, Genetic and Epigenetic Origins of Disease Program Cardiovascular Institute Scientific Director, Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania More detail to follow. Registration required; Lunch provided Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 11-102AB 3600 Civic Ctr Blvd (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

March

12

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

Learn More 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

March

17

3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor

Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Paternalism, Autonomy, and Duties of Aid" - Sophie Gibert, PhD

Learn More 2026-03-17 12:00:00 2026-03-17 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Paternalism, Autonomy, and Duties of Aid" - Sophie Gibert, PhD Paternalism, Autonomy, and Duties of Aid Sophie Gibert, PhD Assistant Professor, Legal Studies & Business Ethics Department Wharton School | University of Pennsylvania Dr. Gibert's research is primarily in normative ethics and she writes on topics such as manipulation, paternalism, and autonomy. Dr. Gibert also writes about issues in bioethics, and co-hosts a bioethics podcast called Bio(un)ethical. More detail to follow. Registration required; Streaming available via Zoom. 3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor Penn Medical Ethics

March

31

3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor

Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Why They Blow the Whistle: Exposing Abuses in Medical Research" - Carl Elliott, MD, PhD

Learn More 2026-03-31 12:00:00 2026-03-31 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar (PBS): "Why They Blow the Whistle: Exposing Abuses in Medical Research" - Carl Elliott, MD, PhD Why They Blow the Whistle: Exposing Abuses in Medical Research Carl Elliott, MD, PhD Professor, Department of Philosophy University of Minnesota In popular culture, whistleblowers are conscience-driven heroes who triumph against the odds. Yet when medical research abuses occur, institutions deny wrongdoing even when it is glaringly obvious, and rarely do mistreated research subjects or their families get any real justice. Whistleblowing is the exception, not the rule. In many scandals, doctors and other staff members remain silent for years while unwitting research subjects are abused. What is it that leads a rare individual to say no to practices that are deceptive, exploitative or harmful when everyone else remains silent? Streaming available via Zoom. 3600 Civic Center Blvd., 8th Floor Penn Medical Ethics