Wendy Yi Xu, PhD

Associate Professor; Joint Appointment, College of Public Affairs
Health Services Management and Policy


Phone
614-292-0662
Office
Cunz Hall 208, 1841 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210
Wendy Yi Xu

Biography

Low-income Americans are more likely than higher-income individuals to have multiple chronic conditions, older, living in rural areas with poor access to appropriate health care, and are vulnerable to higher financial burdens from health care spending. Health care for the vulnerable populations has been a focus in my research, which addresses the causes of these problems arising from certain aspects of the U.S. health care system design, as well as the consequences of health policies attending to these issues.
My research examines two topics related to accessing adequacy and financial burdens in vulnerable populations: (1) the redistributive effects of insurance benefits on consumers of different demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and (2) disparities in cost-related access to care and provider supply adequacy for vulnerable populations. My research has primarily employed complex survey data and large administrative claims databases.

Ongoing funded projects:

"Investigating Effect of State Surprise Billing Regulations on Commercial Insurance Plan Enrollees". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The goal of the study is to investigate the effects of balance billing regulations on surprise billing practices and health care prices. 

"Network Regulation and Consumer Access Project". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In this project, we conduct a 'secret shopper' survey to understand consumers' experience in navigating provider networks. 

"Disparities in Health Care Use Among Patients with Dementia Related Disorders". National Institute On Minority Health and Health Disparities. This project examines cancer screening use disparities in patients with dementia. 

Education

PhD
Health Services Research Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 2013
MS
Health Services Research Policy and Administration School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
BA
Economics, School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China, 2006

Research interests

Health care access barriers and financial burdens for vulnerable populations

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