Eric Patashnik
The passage of the Affordable Care Act has generated concerns that the government will ration valuable health care services. But what exactly is rationing, and how does the U.S. health care system allocate scarce resources today? In this podcast, University of Virginia Professor Eric Patashnik discusses his research on the politics of evidence-based medicine and why rationing has emerged as a major public policy issue. He covers the role of doctors, political leaders, and public opinion in shaping the context in which the debate over rationing is playing out.
Eric Patashnik is Associate Dean and Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is also Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Patashnik received both his MPP and PhD (political science) from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously held faculty positions at Yale University and UCLA. Patashnik’s latest book is Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted (Princeton University Press, 2008), which received the 2009 Louis Brownlow Book Award given by the National Academy of Public Administration. His two other books are Promoting the General Welfare: New Perspectives on Government Performance (co-editor with Alan S. Gerber, Brookings Institution Press, 2006), and Putting Trust in the U.S. Budget: Federal Trust Funds and the Politics of Commitment (Cambridge University Press, 2000). His essays have appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Governance, Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, Social Service Review, and in many edited volumes. His current major research project, with Alan Gerber of Yale University, explores the politics of evidence-based medicine in the United States and is supported by grants from the Smith Richardson and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations.
Mr. Patashnik spoke at the February 9, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at The Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Bob McGrath.