Discrepancy between health care spending and outcomes in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute April 25

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

Discrepancy between health care spending and outcomes in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute April 25

HOUSTON – (April 20, 2018) – Houston health care expert Elena Marks will speak at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy April 25 on the assumptions underlying the United States’ $3.3 trillion in annual health expenditures and explore why this huge cost fails to produce better health outcomes for Americans.

In her presentation, Marks will make the case that Americans have confused health care with health, leading to the assumption that the more people invest in health care, the healthier they will be. Research shows that of the factors that determine health status — as measured by quality and quantity of life — health care accounts for only 10 to 20 percent, yet the U.S. commits more than 95 percent of its national health expenditures to health care.

Hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences, the event is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Who: Elena Marks, president and chief executive officer of the Episcopal Health Foundation, a nonprofit based in Houston. Marks is also a nonresident fellow in health policy at the Center for Health and Biosciences, where her work focuses on health reform and access to care for low-income and uninsured populations.

Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, will give welcoming remarks.

What: A presentation titled “Health, Not Health Care: What’s the Difference?”

When: Wednesday, April 25, 8:30-9:30 a.m. Breakfast and registration begin at 8.

Where: Rice University, Baker Hall, Kelly International Conference Facility, 6100 Main St.

The Episcopal Health Foundation works to improve the health and well-being of the 11 million people of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, which covers 57 counties in east, southeast and central Texas and includes Austin, Houston, Beaumont, Lufkin, Tyler, Waco and Bryan-College Station.

The public must RSVP for the event at www.bakerinstitute.org/events/1936. A live webcast will be available at the event webpage.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top three university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.