Stuart Altman

Stuart Altman Speaker Biography

Stuart H. Altman, Sol C. C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at The Florence Heller Graduate School for Social Policy, Brandeis University, is an economist whose research interests are primarily in the area of federal health policy. In 1997 he was appointed by President Clinton to the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. Professor Altman was Dean of The Florence Heller Graduate School from 1977 until July 1993 and interim President of Brandeis University from 1990-1991. He served as the Chairman of the Congressionally legislated Prospective Payment Assessment Commission for twelve years. ProPac was responsible for advising Congress and the Administration on the Medicare DRG Hospital Payment System and other system reforms. Professor Altman is a member of The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences; a member of the Board of Overseers of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts; and, Co-Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University.

Between 1971 and 1976, Professor Altman was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation/Health at HEW. While serving in that position, he was one of the principal contributors to the development and advancement of the Administration’s National Health Insurance proposal. From 1973 to 1974 he also served as the Deputy Director for Health of the President’s Cost-of-Living Council where he was responsible for developing the Council’s program on health care cost containment.

Professor Altman was a senior member of the Clinton-Gore Health Policy Transition Team. He testifies often before various Congressional Committees, including the 1997 Balanced Budget Act and its impact on Medicare spending for hospitals and the health care system.

Professor Altman has an M.A. and Ph.D. degree in Economics from UCLA and taught at Brown University and the Graduate School of Public Policy at University or California at Berkeley. In addition, Dr. Altman has served on the Board of The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and on the Governing Council of The Institute of Medicine. He is the Chair of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored Council on the Economic Impact of Health System Change. The Council is a private non-partisan group whose mission is to analyze important economic aspects of the U.S. health care system and evaluate proposed changes in the system.