Peter S Arno

University of Massachusetts Amherst, Political Economy Research Institute, Senior Fellow and Director, Health Policy Research

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Peter S. Arno, PhD, is an economist and Senior Fellow and Director of Health Policy Research at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Senior Fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance. He recently served on the Board of Directors of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare Foundation from 2013 to 2017. Dr. Arno received his doctorate in economics at the New School for Social Research and was a Pew Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Health Policy Studies and the Institute for Health and Aging at UCSF, a Scholar of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Investigator Award in Health Policy.

In addition to Dr. Arno’s current work on the economic and financial analysis of universal health care proposals for California, New York and the US, his recent research has examined the impact of Social Security and the Earned Income Tax Credit on population health; integrating social determinants of health with treatment and prevention; food insecurity and the elderly; economics of long-term care; social and geographic determinants of obesity; and regulation and pricing practices of the pharmaceutical industry. His 1992 book with Karyn Feiden, Against the Odds: The Story of AIDS Drug Development, Politics & Profits, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Dr. Arno has testified before numerous U.S. House and Senate committees on areas related to his research.

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Papers by Peter S Arno

The Future of Voluntarism and the AIDS Epidemic

The AIDS Patient, 2019

Advancing Equitable Approaches to Childhood Obesity Prevention

Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Economics, 2001

AIDS: the cost and financing of care

Caring : National Association for Home Care magazine, 1989

The nonprofit sector's response to the AIDS epidemic: community-based services in San Francisco

American Journal of Public Health, 1986

Community-based organizations in San Francisco have played a key role in providing social support... more Community-based organizations in San Francisco have played a key role in providing social support services and public health information to those affected by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). These services have helped minimize the economic impact of the epidemic by reducing the level and expense of hospitalization of AIDS patients. During fiscal year 1984-85, the three largest community-based groups in San Francisco provided more than 80,000 hours of social support and counseling services, responded to over 30,000 telephone inquiries and letters, and distributed nearly 250,000 pieces of literature. Home-based hospice care was provided to 165 AIDS patients at an average cost per day of $94 per patient. Community-based organizations require a significant level of funding from government and private sources. Local government in San Francisco has provided 62 per cent of the revenues for these groups. At the same time, they are not viable without a steady stream of volunteer l...

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March-In Rights Could Ensure Patient Access By Keeping Drug Prices In Check. They’re Under Attack

Forefront Group, 2021

An effort is underway to dismantle one of the few consumer protections against excessive drug pri... more An effort is underway to dismantle one of the few consumer protections against excessive drug prices. In the final days of the Trump administration, the Commerce Department proposed new rules to reinterpret a law that has been on the books for 40 years. The law known as the Bayh-Dole Act was originally designed to facilitate the commercialization of technology developed by academics and nonprofit organizations (and later expanded to for-profit corporations). This new rule would eviscerate the original bargain in the Bayh-Dole Act, namely that in exchange for substantial public investment in new inventions, the inventions must be made “available to the public on reasonable terms.” This would increase the financial burdens on all Americans and increase health disparities. It would also harm the public’s health and enhance the power of unchecked monopolies. The public interest would be far better served by enforcing or strengthening the law already on the books.

Economic Analysis of Medicare for All

This study by PERI researchers Robert Pollin, James Heintz, Peter Arno, Jeannette Wicks-Lim and M... more This study by PERI researchers Robert Pollin, James Heintz, Peter Arno, Jeannette Wicks-Lim and Michael Ash presents a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for a Medicare for All health care system in the United States. The most fundamental goals of Medicare for All are to significantly improve health care outcomes for everyone living in the United States while also establishing effective cost controls throughout the health care system. These two purposes are both achievable. As of 2017, the U.S. was spending about $3.24 trillion on personal health care—about 17 percent of total U.S. GDP. Meanwhile, 9 percent of U.S. residents have no insurance and 26 percent are underinsured—they are unable to access needed care because of prohibitively high costs. Other high-income countries spend an average of about 40 percent less per person and produce better health outcomes. Medicare for All could reduce total health care spending in the U.S. by nearly 10 percent, to $2.93 trillion, while creating stable access to good care for all U.S. residents. The cumulative savings of Medicare for All over ten years would be more than five trillion dollars.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of integrated care for people with HIV, chronic mental illness and substance abuse disorders

The journal of mental health policy and economics, 2009

BACKGROUND Triply diagnosed patients, who live with HIV and diagnosed mental health and substance... more BACKGROUND Triply diagnosed patients, who live with HIV and diagnosed mental health and substance abuse disorders, account for at least 13% of all HIV patients. This vulnerable population has substantial gaps in their care, attributable in part to the need for treatment for three illnesses from three types of providers. AIMS OF THE STUDY The HIV/AIDS Treatment Adherence, Health Outcomes and Cost study (HIV Cost Study) sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of integrated HIV primary care, mental health, and substance abuse services among triply diagnosed patients. The analysis was conducted from a health sector budget perspective. METHODS Patients from four sites were randomly assigned to intervention group (n=232) or control group (n=199) that received care-as-usual. Health service costs were measured at baseline and three, six, nine and 12 months and included hospital stays, emergency room visits, outpatient visits, residential treatment, formal long-term care, case management, ...

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The federal response epidemic

The response of the U.S. government to the AIDS epidemic is reviewed within the context of health... more The response of the U.S. government to the AIDS epidemic is reviewed within the context of health policy making in the U.S.A. in general and the redu& role of the federal government in domestic social programs in particular. This review involves multiple levels of government, the relationship of government to the private sector, the diffusion of authority within a federal system, the long delays in policy impiementation because of the absence of mechanisms to deal with emergency situations, the tendency to fund the response to AIDS from reallocation of appropriated funds, thereby creating financial distress for existing programs. The federal response to AIDS is considered uncoordinated, insuffi&nt and inadequate in particular with respect to the support of public health education and the financing of heatth care for AIDS patients. These are needed while a vaccine may still be years away.

Integrating Social Determinants of Health With Treatment and Prevention: A New Tool to Assess Local Area Deprivation

Preventing Chronic Disease, 2016

We assessed the appropriate geographic scale to apply an area deprivation index (ADI), which refl... more We assessed the appropriate geographic scale to apply an area deprivation index (ADI), which reflects a geographic area's level of socioeconomic deprivation and is associated with health outcomes, to identify and screen patients for social determinants of health. We estimated the relative strength of the association between the ADI at various geographic levels and a range of hospitalization rates by using age-adjusted odds ratios in an 8-county region of New York State. The 10-km local ADI estimates had the strongest associations with all hospitalization rates (higher odds ratios) followed by estimates at 20 km, 30 km, and the regional scale. A locally sensitive ADI is an ideal measure to identify and screen for the health care and social services needs and to advance the integration of social determinants of health with clinical treatment and disease prevention.

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FDA Regulation of Tobacco Advertising and Youth Smoking<subtitle>Historical, Social, and Constitutional Perspectives</subtitle>

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997

Perspectives on tobacco control in American society have shifted markedly. As the view that smoki... more Perspectives on tobacco control in American society have shifted markedly. As the view that smoking as a voluntarily assumed health risk has declined, the social and political environment has become more conducive to industry regulation. This transformation can be traced to the mounting evidence of the health risks of secondary smoke; the addictive quality of nicotine; the vulnerability and exploitation of young people; and industry knowledge of the harmful effects of tobacco. Regulation of tobacco advertising and promotions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raises serious concerns about constitutional protection for commercial speech. However, the minimal informational value of tobacco advertising suggests that it should be afforded a low level of constitutional protection. The FDA regulations impose reasonable &quot;time, place, and manner&quot; restrictions, leave open alternative channels of communication, restrict messages that are harmful to the public health, do not restrict political speech, prevent misleading messages, and help deter the unlawful sale of tobacco products to minors. The regulations meet the traditional criteria for regulating commercial speech, in that the government&#39;s asserted interest is strong, the agency&#39;s regulations directly advance that interest, and the regulations are no more extensive than necessary. Thus, the judiciary should defend the FDA&#39;s historical social and legislative mission to protect the public health.

Can Hospitals Advance Health Equity in the United States? The Influence of Technology, Economics, and Policy

The Modern Hospital, 2019

In this chapter we make the case that hospitals are in a unique position to advance health equity... more In this chapter we make the case that hospitals are in a unique position to advance health equity in the United States. Although often portrayed as a big part of the healthcare cost equation, reimbursement pressures and the shift from acute care to the treatment of chronic illnesses are forcing administrators and clinicians to reconsider not only how and where to treat their patients but at lower costs. Since vulnerable populations, e.g., the uninsured, low-income, and racial/ethnic minority groups are still more likely to visit a hospital emergency department for unnecessary care, there is opportunity for hospitals to leverage their investments in technology to shift costly, inappropriate utilization and reduce the detrimental impacts on health of socioeconomic disparities.

Statement of Peter S. Arno before the New York State Joint Legislative Hearing: Universal Single-Payer Health Coverage