Yucheng Hou

Yucheng Hou, PhD, MPP, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Policy and Community Health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. As a health economist and health services researcher, she specializes in payment and delivery system reforms, care coordination, and policy evaluation using large-scale administrative data and causal inference methods.

• PhD in Health Policy and Management (Economics Track), UNC Chapel Hill (2023)
• MPP in Public Policy, University of Michigan (2018)
• BA in Management, Renmin University of China (2016)

Her research focuses on Medicare payment reform, system-level healthcare factors (market consolidation, organizational structure), and policy impacts on patient outcomes. She has contributed to studies on stroke care transitions and spillover effects in value-based care, published in journals like JAMA Health Forum and Value in Health.

Her work leverages network analysis and quasi-experimental designs to examine peer participation in accountable care organizations and market-level impacts of payment reforms. While no formal awards are listed, her research has been presented at national conferences and supported by collaborations with institutions like UNC Chapel Hill and University of Michigan.

At UTHealth, she contributes to the Center for Health Systems Research, Policy, and Practice. Her teaching experience includes courses on health economics and categorical data analysis at UNC Chapel Hill.