Academic Degrees
PhD, Economics, Indiana University, 1996
MA, Economics, DePaul University, 1993
BSC, Economics, DePaul University, 1991
Biography
Anthony T. LoSasso is a professor, Driehaus Fellow and chair of the Department of Economics at the Driehaus College of Business. He is an economist whose research spans several dimensions of health and labor economics, health policy and health services and outcomes research.
LoSasso is keenly interested in how government policies affect private sector decisions. After receiving an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 5-year Independent Scientist Award entitled “Workplace Health Benefits and Employee Health," LoSasso's research explored the impact of the State Children's Health Insurance Program on insurance among children and the extent to which public coverage may have “crowded out" private coverage of children; how community rating provisions in state health insurance markets affect health insurance coverage; and how the availability of safety net health care services affects the willingness of firms to offer health insurance and the willingness of employees to take-up health insurance when it is offered.
An area of particular interest for LoSasso is the effects of health insurance benefit design on health care utilization and health outcomes. This work includes an AHRQ-funded research grant to study so-called narrow network insurance plans; a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded study to examine the impact of an expansion of mental health benefits on cost and quality of care at a large manufacturing firm; and ongoing work examining the effects of high deductible health insurance on health care use.
LoSasso was appointed by the Governor to the State’s new Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Commission. The commission evaluates the effectiveness of Illinois' managed care program. LoSasso will serve as an academic expert on the Medicaid managed care program.
Additionally, LoSasso has served as co-investigator on an NIH-funded study examining the effects of corporate wellness programs on the use of preventive services and health outcomes. With training in labor and health economics and extensive experience studying the effects of insurance in both the private and public sectors, LoSasso is a nationally recognized leader in the field.
Courses & Syllabi