Benjamin Daniel Sommers, M.D., Ph.D.
Title Huntley Quelch Professor of Health Care Economics Institution Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Department Health Policy and Management Address Harvard School of Public Health Kresge Bldg, Room 406 677 Huntington Ave Boston MA 02115
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Title
Professor of Medicine
Institution
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Biography
2006
National Dissertation Award
2007
Daniel E. Ford Award in Health Services Research
2007
Robert Ebert Award in Primary Care Medicine
2010
Resident Mentor Award
2010
Best Residents and Fellows at Harvard Medical School
2011
Best Oral Presentation in Scientific Abstracts
2015
Alice Hersh New Investigator Award
2015
Article of the Year Award
2015
Outstanding Junior Investigator
2017
Impact Award for Health Services Research

Overview
Dr. Sommers is a health economist and a physician whose main research interests are health policy for vulnerable populations, the uninsured, and the health care safety net. He is the Huntley Quelch Professor of Health Care Economics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Outstanding Dissertation Award, Alice Hersh New Investigator Award, the 2015 Article-of-the-Year Award, and the 2017 Health Services Research Impact Award from AcademyHealth, a preeminent national association of health policy researchers; and the Outstanding Junior Investigator Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019. His research has been published in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Journal of Health Economics, and Health Affairs. His research has been profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and National Public Radio. He has testified before Congress and advised state Medicaid programs.
Dr. Sommers has served in the federal government in multiple leadership roles. In January 2021, he was appointed by President Biden as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and he served in that role until early 2023. From 2022-2023, he was appointed to lead ASPE as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary. Previously, he served as a Senior Advisor in ASPE from 2011-2016, and continues in 2023 to serve in a part-time capacity as a Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretary.
He received a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard and an MD from Harvard Medical School.

Research
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R01MD014970
(LAYTON, TIMOTHY)
Jan 7, 2020 - Nov 30, 2024
Work Requirements and Health Care Disparities in Medicaid: A RandomizedControlled Trial
Role: Principal Investigator
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20171081
(SOMMERS, BENJAMIN D)
Oct 1, 2017 - Sep 30, 2018
Examining Alternative Models of Medicaid Expansion: Assessing the Healthy Indiana Program
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74560
(SOMMERS, BENJAMIN D)
Sep 1, 2017 - Dec 31, 2018
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Using the Gallup Well-Being Index as an Early Monitoring System for Coverage and Access to Care After Changes to the Affordable Care Act
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K02HS021291
(SOMMERS, BENJAMIN D)
Sep 1, 2012 - Aug 31, 2018
Medicaid Policy, Coverage, and Access to Care Among Low-Income Americans Under He
Role: Principal Investigator
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R03HS019754
(SOMMERS, BENJAMIN D)
Sep 15, 2010 - Sep 14, 2011
Policy and Demographic Predictors of Medicaid Take-Up Among Non-Elderly Adults
Role: Principal Investigator

Bibliographic
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