Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR) at Brown University

What Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR) at Brown University does

CAHPR is an academic research center housed within the Brown University School of Public Health that conducts quantitative and legal analysis of U.S. healthcare markets, with the explicit goal of translating research into federal and state policy change. The center operates three thematic labs — Markets and Competition, Medicare, and Health Law & Policy — staffed by health economists and attorneys drawn from institutions such as RAND, UC Berkeley, and CMS. Its primary research outputs include peer-reviewed publications in Health Affairs, JAMA Health Forum, and NEJM, along with policy briefs, congressional and state-legislature testimony, and expert technical assistance on bills in Vermont, Oregon, Indiana, and Rhode Island.

The center has productized portions of its research into two interactive public tools: the MediCode Tool, which provides transparent, reproducible metrics on Medicare Advantage coding intensity and potential upcoding across plans, regions, and parent companies; and a Tableau-based Hospital Payment Cap Simulator that models state-level savings from hospital payment caps for state employee health plans. Both tools are distributed free of charge via the Brown University School of Public Health website, alongside annual Impact Reports documenting the research-to-policy pathway. Outreach runs through congressional briefings, policy discussion events, a seminar series, LinkedIn, a YouTube channel, an email newsletter, and earned media coverage in outlets such as the New York Times, STAT News, and KFF Health News.

CAHPR is funded by foundation grants from Arnold Ventures, NIHCM Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, Partnership for America's Health, and PRA rather than by commercial contracts or fees. It does not charge policymakers for research, analysis, or technical assistance. Strategic partnerships with Georgetown's Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the National Academy for State Health Policy extend its reach into model legislation and Medicare Advantage reform briefings. The organization does not pursue commercial revenue, IP licensing, or AI/ML product development; its outputs are positioned as public goods intended to inform federal and state healthcare affordability policy.

Name

Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR) at Brown University

Legal name

Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research

Website

https://cahpr.sph.brown.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAHPR is a Brown University School of Public Health research center that conducts quantitative and legal analysis of U.S. healthcare markets and translates findings into federal and state policy via testimony, model legislation, and interactive tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Policy Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Strategy, Policy & Legislation (HLAJAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Policy & Legislation Authorities (HLAJACAA), Healthcare Utilization, Claims & Administrative Data Analytics (HLAJAJAK)

Keywords

• Health policy research
• Medicare policy analysis
• Healthcare market research
• Hospital pricing analysis
• Health law research

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: CAHPR is funded through grants and funding from foundations including Arnold Ventures, NIHCM Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, and other health policy funders. The center conducts research to inform health policy without charging for its services to policymakers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CAHPR conducts evidence-based health policy research and quantitative analysis on U.S. healthcare affordability, insurance design, market consolidation, and Medicare. It translates findings into real-world policy change by providing technical assistance, expert testimony, and legislative drafting support to federal and state policymakers, and develops interactive analytical tools (MediCode Tool, Hospital Payment Cap Simulator) that quantify impacts of policy proposals.

Product overview

CAHPR offers a suite of interactive policy research tools and evidence-based resources focused on healthcare affordability and value. The portfolio includes two primary digital tools: the MediCode Tool (for Medicare Advantage coding intensity analysis) and the Hospital Payment Cap Simulator (for modeling state hospital payment savings). These tools are complemented by Policy Discussions events, Seminar Series presentations, and CAHPR Impact Reports documenting research-to-policy pathways. The organization conducts research across three thematic labs: Markets and Competition, Medicare, and Health Law & Policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hospital Payment Cap Simulator: Interactive tool for policymakers to explore state savings from hospital payment caps for state employee health plans
• MediCode Tool

Products and services

• MediCode Tool Interactive tool developed by CAHPR to explore coding intensity and potential upcoding in Medicare Advantage across plans, regions, and time. Provides transparent, reproducible metrics comparing coding intensity across contracts and parent companies, with open-source documentation for academic and policy research.
• Hospital Payment Cap Simulator Interactive Tableau-based simulator that allows policymakers and researchers to explore potential savings from hospital payment caps for state employee health plans. Users can adjust payment cap levels, view state-level savings, and examine impacts on hospital commercial operating margins.
• Policy Discussions

Quantifiable outcome

• Oregon's hospital payment cap saved $107.5 million in first two years, reducing inpatient costs by nearly $2,800 per admission
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Medicare Advantage payment virtual briefing with CAHPR. Collaborated on 2022 State Employee Health Plan Survey. Partnership for Medicare Policy Initiative supporting evidence-based MA policy reform.
• National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAHPR attorneys partnered with NASHP to craft model legislation for strengthening state oversight of major health care transactions and curbing market consolidation. CAHPR uses NASHP Hospital Cost Tool data.
• Employer-Led Transparency InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource of data for Hospital Payment Cap Simulator, using Employer Hospital Price Transparency Study data.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute Health Policy Center: Long-established health policy and economics research center producing work on Medicare, hospital pricing, and consolidation. Comparable analytical depth and policy focus area to CAHPR's Medicare and Markets and Competition Labs.
• Milbank Memorial Fund: Nonprofit foundation focused on health policy evidence and state health system performance. Comparable to CAHPR in its emphasis on state-level policy translation and engagement with state officials.
• Brookings Institution Center for Health Policy: Public policy research center at Brookings producing economic and legal analysis on Medicare, drug pricing, and healthcare markets. Comparable integrated economic-legal-policy approach to CAHPR's Health Law and Policy Lab.
• RAND Corporation Health Care Division: Major nonprofit research organization with deep health economics and policy capabilities. CAHPR's Christopher Whaley is a former RAND health economist, illustrating direct intellectual lineage and overlap on price transparency and market structure research.
• Peterson Center on Healthcare: Foundation-funded initiative focused on healthcare cost and quality including provider consolidation and Medicare reform. Directly comparable in research translation focus and foundation-funded model to CAHPR's overall positioning.
• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF): Major independent health policy research organization producing analysis on Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance. Operates at much larger scale than CAHPR but addresses overlapping subject matter and serves the same federal/state policymaker audience.

Direct peers

• National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP): Nonprofit that supports state health policy across all 50 states. Closely comparable to CAHPR's state policy work; formal partner on model legislation for healthcare transaction oversight and source of Hospital Cost Tool data.
• USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics: Academic health economics research center producing quantitative policy analysis on Medicare, drug pricing, and insurance markets. Comparable lab structure and methodological approach to CAHPR's Medicare Lab and Markets and Competition Lab.
• Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR): Academic health policy research center at Georgetown focused on private health insurance regulation and reform. Directly comparable to CAHPR's Markets and Competition and Medicare Labs; formal partner on Medicare Advantage briefings and 2022 State Employee Health Plan Survey.

Emerging players

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management: Academic department producing health policy research and policy translation. Less integrated with state-level legislative drafting than CAHPR but highly comparable in combined quantitative + legal research capability.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CAHPR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cahpr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR) at Brown University