Reinhardt, Uwe E.

Uwe E. Reinhardt is a well-known and highly respected health economist and health services researcher. Reinhardt is an insightful, and often humorous, commentator on economic, political, and public policy issues in healthcare. He frequently writes on the uninsured and compares healthcare in the United States with that in other countries.

Born in 1937 in Germany, Reinhardt immigrated to Canada. He earned a bachelor's degree in commerce and economics from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1964 and was awarded the Governor General's Medal as the Most Distinguished Graduate of his class. He did his graduate work at Yale University, earning a master's degree and a doctorate in economics in 1970.

Reinhardt has taught at Princeton University since 1968, rising through the academic ranks from assistant professor of economics to his current position of James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of economics and public affairs. At the university, he has taught courses in micro- and macroeconomics, accounting, financial management, and health economics and policy.

Reinhardt has served on a number of government committees and commissions. He served on the National Council on Health Care Technology of the U.S. Department of Health and Welfare from 1979 to 1982. He was a member of the Special Medical Advisory Group of the Veterans Administration (VA) from 1981 to 1985. He also served as a commissioner on the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC), which advised the U.S. Congress on reforms of Medicare policies for paying physicians, from 1986 to 1995.

He has also served as a member of many private-sector organizations, including the Council on the Economic Impact of Health Reform, the National Leadership Coalition on Health Care, and the National Institute for Health Care Management. He is currently on the board of trustees of Duke University Health System and the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. And he is the chairman of the Coordinating Committee of the International Program in Health Policy of the Commonwealth Fund.

Reinhardt is a prolific researcher and writer who has authored or coauthored over 200 journal articles, books, and editorials. He also has served on the editorial boards of many prestigious medical and health services research journals, including Health Affairs, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Health Economics, Milbank Quarterly, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

In recognition of his work, Reinhardt has received many awards and honors. For example, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM), in which he has been a member since 1978. He is a past president of the Association of Health Services Research and the Foundation for Health Services Research. In 2004, he received the Distinguished Investigator Award from AcademyHealth.

Reinhardt has been a consultant to many organizations, including the World Bank, as well as to various federal legislators. He frequently is called to testify before the U.S. Congress.