91AV faculty member Ron Deprez presents research on health reform at two research conferences

Dr. Ron Deprez of the 91AV Center for Health Policy Planning and Research (part of the Center for Community and Public Health) recently presented two research papers on health reform in the US. The first paper "Achieving Universal Coverage Through Comprehensive Health Reform: The Vermont Experience" was presented on November  5th  at the 31st Annual Research Conference of the American Public Policy Analysis and Management  Association (APPAM) held in Washington D.C . Dr. Deprez's presentation was one of four papers selected for a panel entitled Using State Evidence to Inform State and National Health Policy organized by the State Health Access Reform Evaluation program (SHARE) of the University of Minnesota. His paper presented preliminary results of the Center's larger study on the effectiveness of Vermont Act 191 in providing universal access to comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage. This study is being funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

On November 11th Dr. Deprez presented a research paper on "Access to Care in Pennsylvania: The Impact of Health Reform" at the 137th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association in Philadelphia, PA.  At this meeting he presented the results of the Center's evaluation for the Pennsylvania Department of Health Insurance on the impact of state comprehensive insurance reforms on private and public health insurance coverage before and after state health reform. Both papers were the work of study teams headed by Dr. Deprez that included staff at Center as well as experts from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Market Decisions of Portland, Maine and Policy Integrity, Inc. of Montpelier, VT.

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.