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
Websites
Classes Taught
- SPHPM807
- SPHPM822
- SPHPM844
Publications
- 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 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
- Published on 3/30/2024
Palani S, Saeed I, Legler A, Sadej I, MacDonald C, Kirsh SR, Pizer SD, Shafer PR. Effect of the Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act Scribes Trial on Emergency Department Provider Productivity and Patient Throughput Times. J Emerg Med. 2024 Jul; 67(1):e89-e98. PMID: 38824039.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 3/8/2024
Shafer PR, Palani S, Saeed I, Legler A, Barr K, Carvalho K, Pizer SD. Costs and Productivity Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act Scribes Trial. Value Health. 2024 Jun; 27(6):713-720. PMID: 38462222.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 2/5/2024
Shafer PR. Does Supporting Children Help Their Parents Thrive? JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Feb 05; 7(2):e2356376. PMID: 38381436.
Read At: PubMed
View 76 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
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Published on December 30, 2024
Health Insurance Premiums in Massachusetts Are Among the Most Expensive in the Country. Why?
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Published on December 16, 2024
5 of the Most Frustrating Health Insurer Tactics and Why They Exist
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Published on October 20, 2024
Charts: The Biggest Healthcare Issues Heading Into the 2024 Election
- Published on October 18, 2024
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Published on February 16, 2024
Child Tax Credits Provided Significant Relief to Families Experiencing Economic Shocks during COVID
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Published on October 28, 2023
Professor Collaborates with Federal Agency to Study Employee Health Insurance Utilization
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Published on October 25, 2023
Children in 1 Million More Families Faced Food Insecurity in 2022, USDA Says
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Published on October 25, 2023
Children in 1 Million More Families Faced Food Insecurity in 2022, USDA Says
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Published on April 14, 2023
Millions of Americans at Risk of Losing Free Preventive Care after Texas Ruling on ACA
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Published on April 10, 2023
Millions of Americans at Risk of Losing Free Preventive Care after Texas Ruling on ACA
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Published on March 11, 2023
‘I Got Scammed’: Americans Describe Getting Surprise Medical Bills via Health Care Loopholes
- Published on February 16, 2023
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Published on October 24, 2022
U.S. Child Hunger Spiked in Weeks After Child Tax Credits Repealed
- Published on October 24, 2022
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Published on October 24, 2022
Food Insufficiency Spiked in U.S. After Child Tax Credits Ended
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Published on October 21, 2022
US Food Insufficiency Spiked by 25 Percent After Child Tax Credits Expired
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Published on October 21, 2022
Food Insufficiency Increased in Us Households by 25% After Expiration of Child Tax Credit Payments
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Published on October 7, 2022
Increasing Mental Health Providers May Reduce Suicides among Veterans
- Published on October 2, 2022
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Published on September 23, 2022
Monthly Caps on Out-Of-Pocket Costs Would Provide Financial Relief to Privately Insured Patients
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Published on September 16, 2022
Monthly Caps on Out-of-Pocket Costs Could Provide Financial Relief to Privately Insured Patients
- Published on September 13, 2022
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Published on August 9, 2022
Federal Government Steps in to Help Pull Missouri Out of Medicaid Backlog
- Published on May 17, 2022
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Published on April 13, 2022
The Expanded Child Tax Credit Could Have Helped Protect Families against Inflation
- Published on January 21, 2022
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Published on January 19, 2022
Advance Child Tax Credit Payments Cut Food Insufficiency by 26%, Study Finds
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Published on January 13, 2022
Advance Child Tax Credits Reduced US Food Insufficiency by 26 Percent
- Published on December 2, 2021
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Published on October 19, 2021
Only 15% Of Unemployed Adults in NC Gained Medicaid Coverage during the Pandemic, Finds Study
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Published on October 14, 2021
During COVID, Majority of Newly Unemployed Adults in North Carolina Didn’t Receive Medicaid
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Published on September 7, 2021
The Next Attack on the Affordable Care Act May Cost You Free Preventive Health Care
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Published on August 27, 2021
Subscription-Based Payment Models May Improve Access to Hepatitis C Medications
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Published on July 23, 2021
Many Patients Billed for Preventive Care That Should Be Free: Study
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Published on July 20, 2021
Patients Billed up to $219 Million in One Year for Preventive Services That Should Be Free
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Published on July 9, 2021
Study: People in Most Need Least Likely to Benefit from COVID Crowdfunds
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Published on April 30, 2021
BU Medicaid Policy Lab Advances Research with a Health Equity Focus
- Published on March 15, 2021
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Published on March 15, 2021
The Affordable Care Act Reduces Out-of-Pocket Costs for Children’s Care
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Published on March 12, 2021
Children’s Preventive Healthcare Costs Dropped Under the ACA
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Published on March 8, 2021
Expanding Health Coverage Is Good. But We Also Need to Fix Stingy Plans.
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Published on February 18, 2021
New BU Lab Studies Medicaid, Where Racism, Poverty, and COVID-19 Meet
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Published on January 21, 2021
Biden’s Top-Four Priorities, Explained by Leading BU Experts
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Published on January 5, 2021
How Biden Can Expand Healthcare Access in His First 100 Days
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Published on November 25, 2020
How President Biden Will Shape Healthcare in His First 100 Days in Office
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Published on November 25, 2020
The Health 202: The U.S. Is Poised for Another Wave of COVID-19 Deaths, Public Health Experts Warn
- Published on November 4, 2020
- Published on October 28, 2020
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Published on August 26, 2020
While the US Is Reeling From COVID-19, the Trump Administration Is Trying to Take Away Health Care
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Published on August 25, 2020
While the US Is Reeling From COVID-19, the Trump Administration Is Trying to Take Away Health Care
- Published on July 16, 2020
- Published on July 14, 2020
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Published on June 29, 2020
Four Ways COVID-19 Has Exposed Gaps in the US Social Safety Net
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Published on May 26, 2020
4 Ways COVID-19 Has Exposed Gaps in the US Social Safety Net
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Published on May 26, 2020
4 Ways COVID-19 Has Exposed Gaps in the US Social Safety Net
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Published on April 29, 2020
Wait Times Remain Stubbornly Long in Hospital Emergency Rooms
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Published on August 23, 2019
New Rules from the Trump Administration Will Hurt El Paso Shooting Victims