Dr. Martin Makary of Johns Hopkins to Serve FAIR Health as Policy Advisor

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned Johns Hopkins surgeon, researcher and policy expert Martin (Marty) Makary, MD, MPH, will serve FAIR Health as its Policy Advisor. In that role, Dr. Makary will help inform the research and policy-related initiatives of FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information.

The author of the New York Times best seller Unaccountable and the forthcoming book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It, Dr. Makary has a long-standing interest in transparency that aligns with the mission of FAIR Health. He will assist FAIR Health in designing research to help study disease and public health as well as shed light on the complexities of our healthcare system. He also will advise on public policy and consult on FAIR Health's activities and the role the organization can play in supporting transparency to the benefit of consumers and other key stakeholders in the sector.

A professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Makary is a pioneering surgeon and prominent researcher whose work has influenced the healthcare system at both the bedside and policy levels. He is Chief of the Johns Hopkins Islet Transplant Center, founder of the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Outcomes Research and Clinical Trials, and Executive Director of Improving Wisely, a national collaborative to reduce unnecessary care. He leads the national SOLVE study, a hospital collaborative to reduce opioid overprescribing after surgery, and leads multiple grants on healthcare costs and public policy. A leading expert on transparency and new models of care delivery, he has written for the Wall Street Journal and USA Today and published more than 250 scientific articles on topics such as vulnerable populations, healthcare disparities, special issues in older patients and quality metrics in clinical medicine. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a recipient of the National Pancreas Foundation's Nobility in Science Award.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd commented: "We have long been admirers of the work of Dr. Makary and share a common interest in transparency. Given his multifaceted role as surgeon and clinician coupled with his policy experience, he provides a unique vantage point to further the work of FAIR Health."

Dr. Makary stated: "I am familiar with the work of FAIR Health and have been impressed with how they marshal their healthcare data into actionable reports. As a national nonprofit with a vast repository of data, FAIR Health is a leading independent beacon in today's changing healthcare landscape."

About FAIR Health
FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 29 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data products—including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indices—to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health houses data on Medicare Advantage enrollees in its private claims data repository. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.