Paul Shafer
Profiles

Paul Shafer, PhD

Assistant Professor, Health Law, Policy & Management - Boston University School of Public Health

Biography

Dr. Shafer is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management and co-director of the Boston University Medicaid Policy Lab. His research focuses on how health insurance and social safety net policies affect health, well-being, and equity. Do they work and are the benefits distributed equitably? If they don't work or have unintended consequences, why and how can we fix them? He is also an investigator with the Partnered Evidence-based Policy Resource Center at the VA Boston Healthcare System and research fellow with the Office of Personnel Management.

He previously served as a research economist at RTI International and junior fellow at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He is a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar, which amplified his commitment to policy-engaged scholarship and research translation. He holds a PhD in health policy and management with a concentration in health economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MA in applied economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a BA in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Education

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, PhD
  • University of North Carolina at Greensboro, MA

Classes Taught

  • SPHPM807
  • SPHPM822
  • SPHPM844

Publications

  • Published on 1/27/2025

    Duffy EW, Poole MK, Gonzalez D, Petimar J, Kinsey EW, Shafer PR, Baldwin-SoRelle C, Austin AE. Beyond Food Assistance: A Scoping Review Examining Associations of Nonfood Social Safety Net Programs in the United States With Food Insecurity and Nutrition Outcomes. Nutr Rev. 2025 Jan 27. PMID: 39868761.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/3/2025

    Aswani MS, Shafer PR. Medicaid Personal Needs Allowances-Overdue for Adjustment. JAMA Health Forum. 2025 Jan 03; 6(1):e244457. PMID: 39752170.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/2/2025

    Auty SG, Frakt AB, Shafer PR, Stein MD, Gordon SH. Severe Maternal Morbidity Among Pregnant People With Opioid Use Disorder Enrolled in Medicaid. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jan 02; 8(1):e2453303. PMID: 39777443.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/2/2025

    Podolsky MI, Raquib R, Shafer PR, Hempstead K, Ellis RP, Stokes AC. Factors Associated With Semaglutide Initiation Among Adults With Obesity. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jan 02; 8(1):e2455222. PMID: 39836425.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/17/2024

    Horný M, Shafer PR. Tempering expectations for hospital price transparency rules as a solution to health care cost growth. J Hosp Med. 2024 Nov 17. PMID: 39550640.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/15/2024

    Shafer PR. Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. 2024; 11672675.

    Read At: Custom
  • Published on 6/2/2024

    Shafer PR, Yuan Y, Feyman Y, Price ME, Kabdiyeva A, Figueroa SM, Shen YJ, Nebeker JR, Ward MC, Strombotne KL, Pizer SD. Effect of mental health staffing inputs on initiation of care among recently separated Veterans. Health Serv Res. 2024 Dec; 59 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):e14333. PMID: 38826037.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/21/2024

    Garrido MM, Biko D, Dorneo A, Shafer PR, Frakt AB. Access to insurance navigation support through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Health Aff Sch. 2024 Jun; 2(6):qxae072. PMID: 38911681.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/15/2024

    Lim K, Nguyen KH, Goutos D, Shafer PR, Buitron de la Vega P, Cole MB. The Association Between Hospital-Based Food Pantry Use and Subsequent Emergency Department Utilization Among Medicaid Patients With Diabetes. J Ambul Care Manage. 2024 Jul-Sep 01; 47(3):122-133. PMID: 38744317.

    Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/10/2024

    Saeed I, Barr K, Palani S, Shafer P, Pizer S. Comparison of Full-Time Equivalent and Clinic Time Labor Input Measures in Productivity Metrics. J Healthc Manag. 2024 May-Jun 01; 69(3):178-189. PMID: 38728544.

    Read At: PubMed

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