Anthony T. Lo Sasso, PhD

I am Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at DePaul University in Chicago. I am also a Driehaus Fellow in the Driehaus College of Business. My research spans several dimensions of health and labor economics, health policy, and health services and outcomes research. I am keenly interested in how government policies affect private sector decisions. After receiving an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 5-year Independent Scientist Award entitled “Workplace Health Benefits and Employee Health,” my research explored the impact of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program on insurance among children and the extent to which public coverage may have “crowded out” private coverage of children; how community rating provisions in state health insurance markets affect health insurance coverage; and how the availability of safety net health care services affects the willingness of firms to offer health insurance and the willingness of employees to take-up health insurance when it is offered.

 

An area of particular interest for me is the effects of health insurance benefit design on healthcare utilization and health outcomes. This work includes an AHRQ-funded research grant to study so-called narrow network insurance plans; a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded study to examine the impact of an expansion of mental health benefits on cost and quality of care at a large manufacturing firm; and ongoing work examining the effects of high deductible health insurance on health care use. Additionally, I served as co-investigator on an NIH-funded study examining the effects of corporate wellness programs on preventive service use and health outcomes.

 

Until recently (2012-2019), I served as the Executive Director of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon). With training in labor and health economics and extensive experience studying the effects of insurance in both the private and public sectors, I am a nationally recognized leader in the field.