Michael E. Chernew, PhD

Michael Chernew, PhD, is the Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy and the Director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation (HMR) Lab in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chernew’s research examines several areas related to improving the health care system including studies of novel benefit designs, Medicare Advantage, alternative payment models, low value care and the causes and consequences of rising health care spending. Dr. Chernew served as Chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) from 2020 to 2026, previously serving as Vice Chair from 2012-2014 and a member from 2008-2012.  He also served as a member of the Massachusetts Health Connector Board from 2015 to 2026, serving as Vice Chair from 2017 to 2024. He has served on several technical advisory panels for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that reviewed the assumptions used by Medicare actuaries to assess the financial status of Medicare trust funds. 

Dr. Chernew is a member of the Congressional Budget Office's Panel of Health Advisors and the National Academy of Sciences.  He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonresident senior scholar at the USC Schaeffer Institute for Health Policy & Economics  and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Economic studies at the Brookings, Center on Health Policy. Dr. Chernew is currently a co-editor of the American Journal of Managed Care.  Dr. Chernew earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD in economics from Stanford University.

In 2026, he was awarded the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) and in 2025, he was the recipient of the Reinhardt Distinguished Career Award from AcademyHealth.  He is also a past recipient of the John D. Thompson Prize for Young Investigators by AUPHA. In 1999, he received the Alice S. Hersh Young Investigator Award from the Association of Health Services Research.

Learn more about Dr. Chernew's work and its impact:

• Podcast: Diving into the New CMS' National Health Expenditures Projections w/ Michael Chernew | Health Affairs
• Rational Public Policy with Mike Chernew - Turn on the Lights Podcast | Podcast on Spotify
• Podcast: Michael Chernew on Medicare Advantage Benchmarks | Health Affairs
• Follow the Money: Harvard Professor & MedPAC Chair, Michael Chernew, Illuminates the Causes & Consequences of Healthcare Spending - LRVHealth
• Podcast: Mike Chernew On Payment Reform: From Direct Contracting To ACO REACH | Health Affairs

Testimony: Improving Payment Accuracy in the Medicare Program

Description: Mike Chernew testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of representatives on improving payment accuracy in the Medicare program. 

Pearl Health Top 50 Value-Based Care Thinkers of 2024

Description: Mike Chernew was among the names of Pearl Health Top 50 Value-Based Care Thinkers report, which recognizes healthcare providers, policy makers, academics, and thinkers across disciplines who are leading the healthcare system’s transition to value-based care.