Stephen T Parente

Stephen T. Parente, Ph.D., MPH, MS, is the Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair of Health Finance and a Professor in the Department of Finance at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He also serves as Associate Dean of the Carlson Global Institute. Previously, he was Associate Dean of MBA and MS programs (2014–2017) and Director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute (2006–2017). His government service includes roles as Chief Economist for Health Policy at the White House Council of Economic Advisers (2019–2021) and Senior Adviser to the Secretary for Health Economics at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Education:

• BA in Health and Society, University of Rochester (1987)
• MS in Public Policy Analysis, University of Rochester (1988)
• MPH in Health Economics, University of Rochester (1989)
• PhD in Health Finance and Organization, Johns Hopkins University (1995)

Research Interests: Dr. Parente specializes in health economics, health insurance design, health information technology impact assessment, medical technology evaluation, and policy micro-simulation. His work explores consumer-driven health plans, healthcare fraud detection via predictive analytics, international health system efficiency, and the economic implications of health reforms like the Affordable Care Act. He founded the Medical Valuation Laboratory to accelerate medical innovation translation.

Publication Trends: Parente's recent articles focus on payment reform (e.g., site-neutral payments), healthcare pricing transparency, predictive analytics in Medicaid, workforce impacts of health policy, and international health system comparisons. His research consistently integrates economic modeling with empirical data analysis to evaluate cost, access, and efficiency in healthcare delivery and financing.

Scientific Awards:

• Faculty Media Star Award (2010, 2005)
• Special Recognition, Pioneer Institute’s Better Government Competition (2009)
• Faculty Research Award (2006)
• Class of 1981 Faculty Member of the Year (2005)
• Delta Omega Honor Society (2002)
• John P. Young Student Prize (1993)

Advising and Grants: Dr. Parente has advised 16 graduate students (5 PhD, 5 MS, 6 undergraduate theses). He secured major grants from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AHRQ, and DHHS, including studies on consumer-driven health plans ($1M+), health IT impact on quality ($500k), and Medicare policy simulation. His current research explores health savings accounts, medical innovation valuation, and fraud prevention analytics.

Leadership: He directs the Medical Valuation Laboratory and serves as President of the American Society of Health Economists. Previous leadership includes Governing Chair of the Health Care Cost Institute and Board Member of Academy Health.