Haiden A. Huskamp

Haiden A. Huskamp, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Health Economics in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Huskamp's primary areas of research are: 1) the economics of mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) treatment; 2) the economics of the pharmaceutical industry; and 3) the financing of end-of-life care services.

She has developed a body of research on the impact of managed care carve-outs for MHSA services on utilization patterns, costs and quality of care. Currently, Dr. Huskamp and colleagues are studying the effect of a MHSA benefit carve-out on care received by patients with bipolar disorder. In addition, she is participating in the claims data analysis for the evaluation of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program implementation of MHSA parity. The claims analysis will assess the effect of requiring participating plans to implement parity in coverage for MHSA and general medical services on cost, utilization patterns and quality of MHSA care for federal employees.

Dr. Huskamp is a recipient of a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health focused on the economics of psychotropic drug use. Dr. Huskamp and colleagues are currently examining the impact of three-tier prescription drug formularies on utilization and spending patterns in both non-elderly and retiree populations. In addition, Dr. Huskamp has completed work with the Institute of Medicine on the effect of the Veterans Administration national drug formulary on cost and quality of care for veterans.

Dr. Huskamp served as principal investigator for a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the impact of Medicare financing methods on the provision of services to patients at the end of life. She recently served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Care for Children Who Die and Their Families. Dr. Huskamp is currently studying utilization patterns and expenditures for lung and colorectal cancer patients at the end of life as part of the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) project funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Huskamp received her Ph.D. in health policy with a concentration in economics from Harvard University in 1997.