Mark C. Hornbrook, PhD
Senior Investigator
Chief Scientist

Photo of Mark Hornbrook

A health economist, Dr. Hornbrook's current research focuses on payment systems for HMOs under private and public health insurance programs. With support from the Health Care Financing Administration, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente, he is developing morbidity-based risk-assessment models to adjust payments to health plans to counter selection bias.

He is also developing and simulating a new risk contracting payment system for Medicare based on competitive market premiums rather than Medicare fee-for-service payments. Previously, with support from Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Dr. Hornbrook developed health care expense forecasting models using the SF-36 and the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.

Dr. Hornbrook directs the CHR Economics Core in conducting a series of economic evaluations of several innovative disease management, disease prevention, and health care delivery programs related to long-term care of frail elderly, smoking cessation, cancer screening, mental illness, and childhood asthma. He is also conducting a small feasibility study with the support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for risk-adjusting HEDIS measures of population health outcomes. Dr. Hornbrook is also principal investigator of the Data Coordinating Center for the Cancer Research Network, a consortium of nine large HMOs and the National Cancer Institute to conduct research on the effectiveness of cancer prevention, screening, and treatment programs.

Dr. Hornbrook received a master’s degree in economics from the University of Denver in 1969 and a Ph.D. in medical care organization, with emphasis in health economics, from the University of Michigan in 1975. As associate director at the CHR, he directs a team of twelve investigators along with their scientific support staff. He holds a part-time academic appointment as professor in the Population-based Nursing Department of the School of Nursing, Oregon Health Sciences University. Currently, Dr. Hornbrook chairs the Scientific Review and Evaluation Board of the Health Services Research and Development Service, Department of Veterans Affairs. He also is a member of the Measures Council of the Foundation for Accountability. He was named a Fellow in the Association for Health Services Research in 1996.

E-mail: Mark.C.Hornbrook@kpchr.org
Current Studies:
    		• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry Pilot—ALS Registry
    		• Cancer Research Network 2 — CRN 2
    		• Cancer Research Network—CRN3
    		• Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics Coordinating Center—CERTS
    		• Effectiveness of the CHESS Ehealth Cancer Support Intervention in Population-level Care
    		• Extent of Maternal Morbidity in a Managed Care Setting—Mat Morb
    		• Intestinal Ostomies and Informal Caregiving for Colorectal Cancer Survivors—Stomas Caregiving
    		• Medical Care Burden of Cancer: System and Data Issues—BURDEN
    		• Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute—OCTRI
    		• The HMO Clinical Trials Research Network

    Recently Completed Studies:
    		• Alcohol Consumption and Health Care Utilization
    		• Cancer Outcomes Research and Surveillance—CanCORS
    		• Cancer Research Network Supplement: Diffusion of Ovarian Cancer Treatment
    		• Development of an HMO Disability Registry Using Automated Data Systems — Disability ID
    		• Does Equity Matter in Managed Care
    		• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Burden of Illness Study
    		• Health related quality of life for cancer survivors with stomas—STOMAS
    		• Implementing Health Status-Based Risk Adjustment in an Employed Population
    		• Maintain and Expand the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project – HCUP
    		• OHSU/KPNW Family Care Study
    		• Severely Mentally Ill HMO Members
    		• Using Radon Risk to Motivate Smoking Reduction— RADON


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