Center for Health Economics and Health Policy (CHEHP)

About CHEHP

Established in 2004, the UMDNJ Center for Health Economics and Health Policyﾒs mission is to inform health policy through economic, social, and behavioral research. The Center conducts studies of individual and household behavior regarding access to and use of health services, enrollment in private and public health insurance, and the determinants of population health status. The Centerﾒs focus is on the development of research studies that will contribute to the scientific knowledge base necessary to inform health policy. The Centerﾒs specific areas of inquiry include: identifying the determinants of the populationﾒs access to, use of, and expenditures for health care; assessing the factors affecting the health and health care use of vulnerable populations including older adults, children, racial/ethnic minorities, and the uninsured; quantifying the relationship between employment status and health insurance status; examining decision making with regard to enrollment in private and public health insurance; identifying factors affecting individual decisions to engage in risky health behaviors; and understanding the implications of population dynamics for health, disability, long-term care service use, and related public policy.

The Centerﾒs professional staff consists of faculty members in the Department of Health Systems and Policy, School of Public Health, UMDNJ and includes economists and population researchers. The professional staff conducts research studies, contribute to the mentoring and educational experience of students in the departmentﾒs masterﾒs and doctoral programs and provide opportunities for applied research experience. The Center sponsors a health economics seminar series and maintains affiliations with other research entities including the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research of Rutgers University and the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.