Announcing the Winners of the 25th Annual Research Award

Washington, DC – April 11, 2019 – NIHCM Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 25th Annual Research Award. Additional winners from other categories will be announced on a rolling basis.

Established in 1993, the NIHCM Research Award recognizes outstanding published work from researchers furthering innovation in health care financing, delivery and organization or the implementation of health care policy. The winning entries were chosen by an independent panel of experts.

"Over the last 25 years our Research Award finalists have generated tremendously important insights around challenges and solutions in our health care system, and this year was no exception," said NIHCM CEO Nancy Chockley.

Research Award

Zack Cooper, Stuart V. Craig, Martin Gaynor, John Van Reenen, "The Price Ain't Right? Hospital Prices and Health Spending on the Privately Insured," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, September 2018

This paper used private insurance claims to study the variation in health spending and the pricing of hospital services in the United States, finding that hospital prices increased significantly when merging hospitals were geographically close, and that hospitals in concentrated markets had higher prices and were able to negotiate more favorable contractual terms with insurers. The judges were impressed with the national reach of this work and its impact in transforming perceptions and raising public policy questions regarding antitrust enforcement.

The winners and finalists will be honored at a banquet in Washington, D.C. in May, and the winners will each receive a $20,000 cash prize.