CHICAGO, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NORC at The University of Chicago today announced the appointment of two new senior research fellows-Michael Collins, Ph.D. and Wilhelmine Miller, MS, Ph.D.-to the department of Health Care Research.
"Across the board, in both the public and private sectors, health care reform calls for a focus on objective data and analysis that will allow decision makers to effectively implement the changes required by the new law, as well as to evaluate the impact of The Affordable Care Act," said Dan Gaylin, NORC's Executive Vice President of Research Programs.
In March 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the comprehensive health care reform law that affects every American. The first set of changes called for in the new law began in July 2010 and are planned to continue through 2015. The wide-reaching scope of The Affordable Care Act presents many implementation and evaluation challenges for both the public and private sector.
To address these challenges, in addition to the recent appointment of policy expert Christine Nye, NORC has added two new senior fellows to its staff...
Michael Collins, Ph.D.
Prior to joining NORC as a Senior Fellow, A. Michael Collins, Ph.D., served as Informatics Head at Aetna, Inc. for four years where his group designed new analytic and evaluation projects assessing the value of Aetna programs for customers around the world. As Consulting Practice Leader for the government group at Thomson Medstat (now Thomson Reuters Healthcare), Collins directed consulting projects for many State Medicaid programs, as well as other state and Federal agencies including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A founding member of the organization now known as the Hilltop Institute, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Collins oversaw a professional staff that was in charge of financial and policy analyses, data warehousing, and care management programs. Previously, Collins was Director of Policy Planning, Health Policy Research Division at Medstat Systems, and designed and launched the first commercial health care claims repository suitable for research (MarketScan). His Ph.D. and M.Phil. in American Studies were awarded by the University of Kansas and he earned his A.B. from Princeton University.
Wilhelmine Miller, MS, Ph.D.
In addition to her new post as Senior Fellow, Wilhelmine Miller, MS, Ph.D. remains a Professorial Lecturer in Health Policy at George Washington University, where she has been on the research faculty at the GW School of Public Health and Health Services since 2006. In her role as Associate Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America, Miller oversaw the preparation of the Commission's report with recommendations. Earlier, while at the Institute of Medicine, Miller was a member of the Institute of Medicine committee that made recommendations for the structure and activities of a national clinical effectiveness research enterprise (Knowing What Works in Health Care: A Roadmap for the Nation). During her tenure as a senior program officer at the Institute of Medicine, she directed various committees that assessed the health, economic, and community consequences of uninsurance and that made recommendations to federal agencies for incorporating cost effectiveness information in analyses of regulations addressing human health and safety risks. Her degrees in health policy and management and political philosophy are from Harvard and Georgetown Universities, respectively.
"I am thrilled to welcome Michael and Wilhelmine to the team," announced Stephen Smith, SVP and Director of Health Care Research at NORC. "Each of them is a highly respected health care expert and brings critical knowledge and formidable skills to the work we do as the health care landscape continues to change."
About NORC at The University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research organization headquartered in downtown Chicago with additional offices on The University of Chicago's campus and in Washington, D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland. NORC also supports a nationwide field staff as well as international research operations. With clients throughout the world, NORC collaborates with government agencies, foundations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and businesses to provide the data and analysis that supports informed decision making in key areas including health, education, economics, crime, justice, energy, security, and the environment. NORC's 70 years of leadership and experience in data collection, analysis, and dissemination-coupled with deep subject matter expertise-provides the foundation for effective solutions.
An affiliate of The University of Chicago, NORC is an equal opportunity employer.
CONTACT: Alison Gross, NORC, +1-312-357-3789