Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research

David J. Meyers Ph.D., MPH

Medicare Lab Lead, Associate Director for the Center for Advancing Health Policy Through Research, Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice
david_meyers@brown.edu
Research Profile

Biography

Dr. Meyers is an Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy, Policy and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. Professor Meyers is a health services researcher and health economist whose research broadly focuses on how payment and delivery reform affect the outcomes of historically marginalized patient populations. His current research interests include trying to understand the drivers of inequities in the Medicare Advantage program, the evaluation of care management programs for high-risk patient populations, and Medicaid policy for patients with chronic illness.

Recent News

The Minnesota Star Tribune

Why UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage program is under attack

UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage program has come under scrutiny for allegedly exploiting diagnostic “upcoding” practices that drive billions in excess federal payments. Brown University researchers have launched Medicoding.org, a public tool that tracks how diagnostic coding in Medicare Advantage inflates payments to insurers. Health economist David Meyers explains that while some coding reflects real patient needs, much of the increase stems from insurers “gaming the system,” making beneficiaries appear sicker than they are
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The Boston Globe

Home health care workers are demanding better pay. Cuts to Medicaid could stand in their way.

The article discusses how home health care workers in Rhode Island are fighting for better wages and working conditions through unionization, but their efforts are at risk due to proposed federal Medicaid cuts. David J. Meyers, a health economist at Brown University, warns that such cuts could have a “massive, qualitative impact on people’s lives” and ultimately increase health care spending as unmet needs at home lead to more hospitalizations and emergency visits.
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STAT News

Private Medicare plans collect billions for care veterans are actually getting from VA

This article explores a study led by Brown University researchers on the billions in potentially redundant payments Medicare Advantage plans receive for veterans primarily cared for by the VA, despite industry claims, like those from UnitedHealthcare, that these payments reflect actual costs.
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The Washington Post

Medicare Advantage insurers fear losing millions over a few bad phone calls

This article examines lawsuits from Medicare Advantage insurers, who claim minor customer service issues threaten millions in bonuses, while experts like Brown University's David Meyers argue that these cases reveal deeper flaws in a rating system that overstates plan quality without accurately reflecting patient care.
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