Stanford Health Policy Seminar: Wesley Yin
Friday, May 26, 202312:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Pacific)
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Hybrid Seminar: Lunch will be provided for on-campus participants.
Please register if you plan to attend, both for in-person and via Zoom.
Log in on your computer, or join us in person:
Encina Commons, Room 119
615 Crothers Way
Stanford, CA 94305
Wesley Yin is an Associate Professor of Economics at UCLA, in the Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Anderson School of Management. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and currently a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Yin’s research focuses on health care, consumer finance, and economic inequality. Previously, he served in the Obama Administration as Acting Chief Economist and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Microeconomic Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, and in the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Abstract: One in six Americans has unpaid medical debt in collections amounting to more than $140 billion nationally, yet there is limited understanding of its impacts on households. This study examines the effect of randomized medical debt relief totaling $175 million across more than 80,000 households. We examine outcomes from three data sources: (1) administrative data on future debt sent to collections; (2) quarterly credit report data spanning at least two years before and after debt relief; and (3) survey measures of self-reported health (clinically-validated screenings for depression, anxiety, and general health), health care utilization, and financial well-being elicited one year after treatment.
Yin will be joining the seminar in person and is happy to arrange meetings with attendees.