Larry Van Horn 
Associate Professor of Management and Executive Director of Health Affairs | Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN, UNITED STATES
Expert in health care management, health insurance policy and health care economics.
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Biography
A renowned expert and researcher on health care management and economics, Larry Van Horn is a leading figure within the Vanderbilt health care community.
Van Horn has been honored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow.
Van Horn has also conducted industry research for such organizations as Kodak Health Imaging, Health Care Financing Administration, Kaiser Family Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and has consulted for national consulting firms, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical firms and foreign governments.
Van Horn holds many leading positions at Owen and in the healthcare community. He is the Executive Director of Health Affairs and Founder and Co-Director of the Center of Health Care Market Innovation at Vanderbilt. He is also the Co-Director of Nashville Health Care Council (alongside Senator Bill Frist).
Van Horn’s research on healthcare organizations, managerial incentives in nonprofit hospitals and the conduct of managed care firms has appeared in such leading publications as the Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Law and Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Medical Care, Medical Care Research and Review, Journal of Public Budgeting and Financial Management, and Harvard Business Review.
Van Horn's current research interests include nonprofit conduct, governance and objectives in healthcare markets, and the measurement of healthcare outcomes and productivity.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Malpractice
Health Insurance
Health Care Economics
Health Care Management
Health & Healthcare Law and Policy
Insurance
Education (3)
University of Pennsylvania: Ph.D.
University of Rochester: M.P.H.
University of Rochester: M.B.A.
Links (3)
Selected Media Appearances (6)
Trump administration shines sunlight into our health care system
The Hill online
2020-11-03
In fact, an analysis by economist Larry Van Horn at Vanderbilt University found that patients who pay cash for health care services pay 40 percent less, on average than the prices charged for insured patients. The cash-paying portion of the market for health care services is fairly small (compared to the portion of the market controlled by third-party payment), but price transparency rules would help all payers, and all patients, to shop around for services or simply plan for health care expenditures. Transparency would lead to greater competition and lower prices.
Remarks by President Trump at Signing of Executive Order on Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First
Whitehouse.gov online
2019-06-24
DR. VAN HORN: Thank you, Mr. President, for taking this action that will put healthcare information in the hands of the American consumer. This truly will be transformational.
Apology Not Accepted: When Saying 'I'm Sorry' Isn't Enough
HealthLeaders online
2019-04-16
McMichael and coauthor Larry Van Horn, associate professor of management and executive director of health affairs at Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management, say health systems need to train providers on when and how to apologize.
Sorry, Laws Protecting Doctors Who Apologize Don’t Lessen Litigation
Claims Journal online
2019-04-05
“The idea is simply that if providers could just say they’re sorry, that’s what patients really want. They really don’t care about punishing the doctor in a financial context, they care about having them express remorse,” said Larry Van Horn, associate professor of management and executive director of health affairs at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, one of the authors of the study. “But what we find is that no, people sue for money. ‘Sorry’ is not enough.”
Don't understand health care? You're not alone. It's the industry's fault — not yours
Tennessean online
2017-08-11
"That's what going to have to happen in health care," said Larry Van Horn, executive director of health affairs at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. "It's going to be incumbent on providers. The onus is on the provider, not the consumer."
Column: How a bite from a stray dog shows the sick state of U.S. healthcare
Los Angeles Times online
2016-09-06
Larry Van Horn, director of the Center for Health Care Market Innovation Research at Vanderbilt University, said he sees hope for change in the growing use of high-deductible insurance plans. “Neither providers nor medical technology companies will be able to charge the prices they have historically if they expect an average American to foot the bill,” he said. “That is the future, and it will be bright. Providers will have to supply services that people can afford out of pocket, and this will force them to innovate and take down their costs to survive.”
Selected Articles (5)
"Sorry" Is Never Enough: How State Apology Laws Fail to Reduce Medical Malpractice Liability Risk
Stanford Law ReviewW Kip Viscusi, Benjamin J McMichael, R Lawrence Van Horn
2019 Based on case studies indicating that apologies from physicians to patients can promote healing, understanding, and dispute resolution, 38 states have sought to reduce litigation and medical malpractice liability by enacting apology laws. Apology laws facilitate apologies by making them inadmissible in subsequent malpractice trials.
74 Regional Variation in Prostate Cancer Treatment is not Consistent Across Age Groups
Journal of UrologyDavid Penson, Daniel Barocas, R Lawrence Van Horn
2018 Using 2008 data from the Texas all-payor dataset, we identified all men with a primary diagnosis of prostate cancer (ICD-9:185) and an AP-DRG of 480 (radical prostatectomy). We restricted analysis to men over age 40. We then calculated age- and race-adjusted RP rates per 1000 men by county of residence.
Are college presidents like football coaches? Evidence from their employment contracts
Ariz. L. Rev.Randall S Thomas, R Lawrence Van Horn
2016 College presidents' and football coaches 2 are normally the highest-paid university executives. Given the current attention paid to rising college tuition, the media frequently focuses on their compensation, often arguing it is inappropriately
Anticipating the unintended consequences of closing the door on physician self-referral
The Journal of UrologyMatthew J Resnick, Amy J Graves, W Stuart Reynolds, Daniel A Barocas, R Lawrence Van Horn, Melinda B Buntin, David F Penson
2016 With urologist self-referral status as the exposure of interest, we performed a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries from 2008 to 2010 to evaluate the relationship between self-referral and imaging intensity, risk of surgical treatment and time to surgical treatment for urinary stone disease.
College Football Coaches' Pay and Contracts: Are They Overpaid and Unduly Privileged
Ind. LJRandall S Thomas, R Lawrence Van Horn
2015 Nick Saban, head football coach for the University of Alabama, and John Hammergren, CEO of McKesson Corporation, share the distinction of being the highest paid individuals in their fields. The similarities do not end there. CEOs and Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football coaches share many common characteristics, including that they receive intense criticism over the level of their compensation.
