William K. Bleser, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., is Managing Associate, Payment Reform and Population Health at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University in Washington, DC. In this role, Dr. Bleser’s work revolves around addressing key policy questions related to health care delivery, with particular attention to the overlap of health payment reform and population health. His portfolio of work includes a focus on both peer-reviewed research as well as policy briefs, issue briefs, and convening and collaborating with relevant stakeholders to have real-world impact. This work includes empirical quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and policy analyses related to accountable care and other alternative payment models or risk-based contracts for population health, specialty care, and vulnerable populations (such as those living with serious illness), Medicaid incentive programs for health behavior change, and emerging health policy issues, among other topics. Before coming to Duke, Dr. Bleser worked at Penn State on grant-funded research studying inequities in preventive health services, evaluating national health quality improvement efforts, and achieving change to the patient-centered medical home delivery reform model. He also previously worked for the US Department of Health and Human Services on improving adult influenza vaccine coverage and better understanding rare adverse events to influenza vaccines. He earned his Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University jointly in health policy and in demography, his Master of Science in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in disease epidemiology and control, and his BS from the College of William and Mary in neuroscience.

Authored by William K. Bleser, Ph.D., M.S.P.H.

Publication

Addressing Social Needs through Medicaid: Lessons from Planning and Early Implementation of North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilots

As more states focus on addressing enrollee's social needs, North Carolina's Pilots project provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate the implementation of 29 evidence-based services. This paper provides timely and practical findings and recommendations from the planning, capacity building, and early implementation of the program.
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Publication

North Carolina’s COVID-19 Support Services Program: Lessons for Health Policy Programs to Address Social Needs

As states consider expanding or creating health programs that address social needs, this analysis of North Carolina’s COVID-19 Support Services offers considerations such as building the capacity of community-based human service organizations, creating feedback channels for all providers, and more.
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