by Ben Walker
This January I experienced my first academic conference, the Health Economics Study Group (HESG) which took place at the Principal Hotel in York from the 7th-9th of January.
HESG has an interesting format; it primarily focuses on working papers rather than finalised pieces of research. Papers accepted to the conference are not presented by the authors but are instead discussed in hour long sessions by a volunteer, who spends approximately 30 minutes giving an overview of the paper, along with some constructive criticism. Following the discussant’s presentation this the floor is opened up for questions and discussion. I both acted as a chair and discussant at the conference.
The paper I chaired was an excellent econometrics based policy evaluation titled ‘Does Physician Reimbursement Affect Treatment? Evidence from Restricting Balance Billing in California’. The primary author of this paper was Yaa Akosa Antwi from John Hopkins University. The paper was discussed superbly by a colleague of mine here at IHS; Diarmuid Coughlan. For those with an interest in the US healthcare system this paper is worth a read once it comes out.
Continue reading “Reflections of the 2019 HESG winter meeting in York”