Research Papers and Publications

Works in Progress:

"Technological Innovation and Expenditure Growth in Health Care," (with A. Chandra), February 2008. (Under revision, journal of Economic Literature).
"Technology Diffusion and Productivity Growth in Health Care." (with D. Staiger), NBER Working Paper 14865, April 2009.

“Education and the Prevalence of Pain,” (with S. Atlas), NBER Working Paper No 14964, May 2009.

Publications Medical and Economics:

Sutherland, J.M., E.S. Fisher, J.S. Skinner, "Getting Past Denial-The High Cost of Health Care in the United States" New England Journal of Medicine, Perspective, September 9, 2009.

Barnato, A.E., D.L. Anthony, J. Skinner, P.M. Gallagher, and E.S. Fisher, “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Preferences for End-of-Life Treatment,” Journal of General Internal Medicine 2009; 24(6):695-701.

Yasaitis, L., E.S. Fisher, J.S. Skinner, and A. Chandra, “Hospital Quality And Intensity of Spending: Is There An Association? Hospitals’ performance on quality of care is not associated with the intensity of their spending,” Health Affairs, 28, no. 4 (2009): w566-w572 (published online 21 May 2009; 10.1377/hlthaff.28.4.w566).

Teno, J.M., S.L. Mitchell, J. Skinner, S. Kuo, E.S. Fisher, O. Intrator, R. Rhodes, V. Mor, "Churning: The Association between Health Care Transitions and Feeding Tube Insertion for Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Cognitive Impairment," Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12(4), 2009: 359-62.

Fisher, E.S., J.P. Bynum, and J. Skinner, “Slowing the Growth of Health Care Costs – Lessons from Regional Variation,” New England Journal of Medicine 2009;360(9):849-852.

Fisher, E. S. , M. McClellan, S. Lieberman, J. Bertko, J. Lee, J. Lewis, J. Skinner, "Fostering Accountable Care:  Moving Forward in Medicare,” Health Affairs 28, no. 2 (2009): w219-w231 (published online 27 January 2009; 10.1377/hlthaff.28.2.w219).

Wennberg J. E., K. Bronner, J. S. Skinner, E. S. Fisher, D. C. Goodman, "Inpatient Care Intensity And Patients’ Ratings of Their Hospital Experiences" Health Affairs 2009;28(1): 103-112.
Tosteson, A.N.A., J. D. Lurie, T D. Tosteson, J. S. Skinner, H. Herkowitz, T. Albert, S. D. Boden, K. Bridwell, M. Longley, G. B. Andersson, E. A. Blood, M. R. Grove, J. N. Weinstein for the SPORT Investigators, “Surgical Treatment of Spinal Stenosis with and without Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: Cost-Effectiveness after 2 Years”, Annals of Internal Medicine, Dec 2008; 149: 845 - 853.
Drake, R., J. Skinner, H. Goldman, Commentary "What Explains the Diffusion of Treatments for Mental Illness?" American Journal of Psychiatry, Nov 2008;165(11):1385-1392.
"Is American Health Care Uniquely Inefficient?" (with A. Garber), Journal of Ecomomic Perspectives Vol 22(4),Fall 2008:27-50.
Tosteson, A.N.A., J. Skinner, T.D. Tosteson, J.D. Lurie, G.B. Andersson, et al., "The Cost Effectiveness of Surgical versus Nonoperative Treatment for Lumbar Disc Herniation Over Two Years", Spine 33(19), September 1, 2008:2108-15.
Malenka, D.J., A.V. Kaplan, L. Lucas, S. M Sharp, J.S. Skinner, "Outcomes Following Coronary Stenting in the Era of Bare Metal versus the Era of Drug Eluting Stents," JAMA 299(24),June 25, 2008:2868-2876.
Fowler, F.J. Jr., P.M. Gallagher, D.L. Anthony, K. Larsen, J.S. Skinner, "Relationship Between Regional per Capital Medicare Expenditures and Patient Perceptions of Quality of Care.” JAMA 299(20), May 28, 2008: 2406-2412.
Wennberg, J. (lead author), E.F. Fisher, D.C. Goodman, and J.S. Skinner, Tracking the Care of Patients with Severe Chronic Illness: The 2008 Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare. Lebanon NH: Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, 2008.
Wennberg, J.E., E.S. Fisher, and J.S. Skinner, “Extending the P4P Agenda, Part 2: How Medicare Can Reduce Waste and Improve the Care of the Chronically Ill,” Health Affairs November/December 2007; 26(6): 1575-1585.
Barnato, A., M.B. Herndon, D. Anthony, P. Gallagher, J.S. Skinner, J. Bynum, E. Fisher, "Are Regional Variations in End-of-Life Care Intensity Explained by Patient Preferences? A Study of the U.S. Medicare Population" Medical Care 4595), May 2007: 386-93.
“Are You Sure You’re Saving Enough for Retirement?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2007; 59-80.
Weinstein, J., T. Tosteson, J. Lurie. A. Tosteson, B.Hanscom, J. Skinner, W. Abdu, A Hilibrand, S. Boden, R. Deyo, “Surgical vs. Nonoperative Treatment for Lumbar Disk Herniation: The Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) A Randomized Trial ”, JAMA 296(20) (November 22/29, 2006): 2441-2450.
Weinstein, J., J. Lurie, T. Tosteson, J. Skinner, B. Hanscom, A. Tosteson, H. Herkowitz, J.Fischgrund, F. Cammisa, T. Albert, R. Deyo. “Surgical versus Nonoperative Treatment for Lumbar Disc Herniation: The Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) Observational Cohort.” JAMA 296(20) (November 22/29, 2006): 2451-2459.
Skinner, J., W. Zhou, and J. Weinstein, “The Influence of Income and Race on Total Knee Arthroplasty in the United States,” Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (October 2006).
Skinner, J., D. Staiger, E. Fisher,”Is Technological Change in Medicine Always Worth It? The Case of Acute Myocardial Infarction” Health Affairs web exclusive (February 2006).
“The Incidence of Medicare” (with M. McClellan) Journal of Public Economics (January 2006): 257-276.

Skinner, J., A. Chandra, D. Staiger, J. Lee, M. McClellan, “Mortality After Acute Myocardial Infarction in Hospitals that Disproportionately Treat African-Americans,” Circulation 112(17) (October 2005): 2634-41.

Baicker, K., A. Chandra and J. Skinner "Geographic Variation in Health Care and the Problem of Measuring Racial Disparities," Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 48(1) (2005): S42-S53).

“Technological Diffusion from Hybrid Corn to Beta Blockers” (with D. Staiger). in E. Berndt and C. M. Hulten (eds.) Hard-to-Measure Goods and Services: Essays in Honor of Zvi Griliches. University of Chicago Press and NBER (forthcoming). Also available as NBER working paper No. 11251 (April 2005).

Baicker, K., A. Chandra, J. Skinner, and J. Wennberg, “Who You Are and Where You Live: How Race and Geography Affect the Treatment of Medicare Beneficiaries,” Health Affairs (October 2004): Var33 – Var44. Reprinted in J.K. Iglehart (ed.) Debating Health Care: A Health Affairs Retrospective, Millwood, VA: Project Hope (2007).

Wennberg J.E., Fisher E.S., Stukel T.A., Skinner J.S., Sharp S.M., Bronner K.K., "Use of hospitals, physician visits, and hospice care during last six months of life among cohorts loyal to highly respected hospitals in the United States," BMJ 328 (2004): 607-10.

“The Measurement and Evolution of Health Inequality: Evidence from the U.S. Medicare Population,” (with W. Zhou) in A. Auerbach, D. Card, J. Quigley (eds) Public Policy and the Income Distribution. New York: Russell Sage (2006). Also available as NBER working paper No. 10842 (October 2004).

“Do the Rich Save More?” (with K. Dynan and S. Zeldes), Journal of Political Economy 112 (April 2004): 397-444.

"How Will 401(k) Pension Plans Affect Retirement Income?" (with A. Samwick), American Economic Review 94(1) (March 2004): 329-343.

“Medicare Upcoding and Hospital Ownership” (with E. Silverman), Journal of Health Economics 23(2) (March 2004): 369-89.

Skinner, J., J. Weinstein, S. Sporer, and J. Wennberg, “Racial, Ethnic, and Geographic Disparities in Rates of Knee Arthroplasty Among the Medicare Patients” New England Journal of Medicine 349(14) (October 2, 2003): 1350-1359.

Skinner, J., J. Wennberg, “Perspective: Exceptionalism or Extravagance? What's Different about Health Care in South Florida” Health Affairs (August 2003).

Birkmeyer, J., J. Skinner, and D. Wennberg, “Will Volume-Based Referral Strategies Reduce Costs or Just Save Lives?” Health Affairs 21(5) (September/October 2002): 234-41.

Lusardi, A., J. Skinner, and S. Venti, "Saving, Public Policy, and Late-Life Inequality," Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics 22 (2002).
Birkmeyer, N.J., J.N. Weinstein, A.N. Tosteson, T.D. Tosteson, J.S. Skinner, J.D. Lurie, D.A. Deyo, J.E. Wennberg. "Design of the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT)." Spine 27(12) (June 15, 2002): 1361-1372.
Wennberg, J.E., E. F. Fisher and J. Skinner, "Geography and the Debate Over Medicare Reform" Health Affairs 21(2) (2002). Web Exclusive. Reprinted in J.K. Iglehart (ed.) Debating Health Care: A Health Affairs Retrospective, Millwood, VA: Project Hope (2007).

“The Importance of Bequests and Life Cycle Saving in Capital Accumulation: A New Answer” (with K. Dynan and S. Zeldes) American Economic Review 92(2) (May 2002): 274-78.

“What Accounts for the Variation in Retirement Saving Across U.S. Households?” (with B. D. Bernheim and S. Weinberg), American Economic Review 91(4) (September 2001): 832-57.

“Saving Puzzles and Saving Policies in the United States” (with A. Lusardi and S. Venti), Oxford Review of Economic Policy 17(1) (April 2001): 95-115.

“Regional Inequality in Medicare Spending: The Key to Medicare Reform” (with J. Wennberg) in A. Garber (ed.) Frontiers in Health Economics 3 (MIT Press, 2000): 69-90.

Silverman, E., J. Skinner, and E. Fisher, “The Association Between For-Profit Hospital Ownership and Medicare Spending” New England Journal of Medicine 341(6) (August 5, 1999): 420-426.

McClellan, M., and J. Skinner, “Medicare Reform: Who Pays and Who Benefits?” Health Affairs 18(1) (Jan/Feb 1999): 48-62.

“Distributional Effects of Medicare” (with J. Lee and M. McClellan) in J. Poterba (ed.) Tax Policy and the Economy 13. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (1999): 85-107

“Will Aging Baby Boomers Bust the Federal Budget?” (with R. Lee), Journal of Economic Perspectives 13(1) (Winter 1999):117-140.

“Regional Disparities in Medicare Expenditures: Opportunity for Reform” (with E. Fisher), National Tax Journal 50 (September, 1997): 413-25.  

"Assessing The Effectiveness of Saving Incentives” (with R. G. Hubbard) Journal of Economic Perspective. 10(4) (Fall 1996): 73-90.

“Taxation and Economic Growth” (with E. Engen) National Tax Journal (December 1996): 617-42. Reprinted in J. Slemrod (ed.) Tax Policy in the Real World (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999).

"The Dynamic Efficiency Cost of Not Taxing Housing," Journal of Public Economics 59 (1996): 397-417.

"Is Housing Wealth a Sideshow?" in D. Wise (ed.) Papers in the Economics of Aging. Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1996).

"Accounting for Changes in the Labor Supply of Recently Divorced Women" (with W.R. Johnson), Journal of Human Resources 23(4) (Fall 1988): 417-36.

"A Superior Measure of Consumption from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics," Economic Letters 23(2) (1987): 213-16.