New Health Economists & Academic Leaders Network Launches to Improve Healthcare Policy

Today, the Health Economists & Academic Leaders (HEAL) Network launched as a new community of economists and academics dedicated to the exchange of ideas and the development and promotion of sound research to improve healthcare policy. The HEAL Network is focused on injecting sound economic thinking into healthcare policy debates at both the federal and state levels. 

Widely recognized as one of the country’s renowned healthcare economists, Stephen T. Parente is the Founding Director of the Health Economists & Academic Leaders (HEAL) Network. “As we look to the future, it is clear that better ideas, rooted in rigorous research and sound economic analysis, are essential. We need policies that lower costs, increase access, and drive progress. My academic career in healthcare economics has been dedicated to exploring these principles. Through the HEAL Network, we aim to provide and amplify data-driven solutions that can genuinely improve our healthcare system,” Parente stated. 

The HEAL Network is dedicated to promoting policies informed by empirical evidence and economic realities. By leveraging the expertise of healthcare economists, researchers, and academics, the HEAL Network will develop strategies that enhance efficiency, promote competition, address disparities, and harmonize regulations to improve patients’ ability to receive the care they need.

“Our community of economists and academic leaders from around the United States are united in their belief that more competition, innovation, accountability, consumer choice, and transparency are needed in America’s healthcare sector to improve the health and well-being of every patient. By supporting research and development and facilitating idea exchange, the HEAL Network provides unique opportunities for scholars to network with colleagues, identify collaborative opportunities, and inform policy debates in real time,” Parente concluded.

For more information about the Health Economists & Academic Leaders (HEAL) Network, please visit https://thehealnetwork.org and on X @HEALntwk.