Gary J. Young, J.D., Ph.D.

Over the course of three HCFO grants, Gary Young, J.D., Ph.D., has examined how changes in that most basic, yet essential type of health care providers -- the hospital -- can significantly affect the organization's revenue, services, and viability, as well as the patients served.

In his first HCFO study, examining how hospital conversions from nonprofit to for-profit status affect communities, Young and his colleagues found that for-profit hospital conversions did not lead to reductions in uncompensated care and other community benefits relative to what existed before conversion.

"This study was one of the first empirical investigations of what has been a highly controversial issue: the community impact of for-profit hospital conversions," says Young.

In a second project, Young studied factors that play a role in competition among hospitals for HMO business. The results indicated that a number of complex price and nonprice attributes influence a hospital's success in securing HMO business.

Young's current HCFO grant examines the effect of local hospital networks on the cost and accessibility of hospital services. As part of this grant, he and his colleagues are analyzing whether local hospital networks are associated with higher prices for hospital services. "There has been a significant amount of networking among hospitals in recent years," he says, "but policymakers have little data with which to evaluate the impact of these arrangements on payers and patients."

Young's work has not been limited to analyses of hospitals. His research portfolio covers a wide variety of subjects in the areas of health care management, health law, and health care policy. He says that he strives to understand the health care industry from policy, legal, and managerial perspectives. For example, he and a colleague recently published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association that examined the legal and policy implications of legislative proposals that would grant physicians immunity from antitrust prosecution for negotiating fees collectively with health plans. He and his colleagues have also completed a study of the implementation and impact of service-line management in hospitals relative to traditional discipline-based organizational designs.

In addition to his current position as associate professor of health services at the Boston University School of Public Health, Young is a senior researcher at the Management Decision and Research Center (MDRC), a research and consulting component within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the health services component of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He and his MDRC colleagues conducted an investigation of the transformation undertaken by the VHA to move from a health care delivery system focusing on inpatient-oriented care to one with strong capabilities in outpatient-based primary care. Study findings pointed to a number of lessons for managing large-scale organizational change efforts. He and his colleagues have also been studying the role of management processes such as coordination and teamwork in health care settings relative to patient outcomes. "Our work at the MDRC is intended to build strong linkages between research and management practice with a goal of improving health care delivery at VA organizations as well as at health care organizations in the private sector," says Young.

Young received his B.A. from Clark University and his Ph.D. in management and J.D. from the State University of New York where he was a Baldy Fellow in Law and Social Policy.

Articles from HCFO-funded projects

Young, G. et al. "The Financial Experience of Hospitals with HMO Contracts: Evidence from Florida," Inquiry, Vol. 39, Spring 2002, pp. 67-75.

Young, G. et al. "Competition among Hospitals for HMO Business: Effect of Price and Nonprice Attributes," Health Services Research, Vol. 37, No. 5, October 2002, pp.1267-89.

Desai, K., C. VanDeusen Lukas, and G. Young, "Public Hospitals: Privatization and Uncompensated Care," Health Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2000, pp. 167-172.

Young, G., and K. Desai, "The Community Impact of Nonprofit Hospital Conversions: Evidence From Three States," Health Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 5, 1999, pp. 146-154.