The famend Princeton College well being economist Uwe Reinhardt died as we speak. The e-mail from his Dean on the Woodrow Wilson faculty stated he handed peacefully and surrounded by household.
Reactions on Twitter resonate with my very own. They mirror Uwe’s contributions to and presence in well being care coverage and training — “insightful, “a treasure,” centered on the “ethical underpinnings of coverage,” “one of many nicest and funniest individuals within the discipline of well being econ,” “a godfather of well being coverage and economics,” “a singular and disarmingly highly effective voice in well being coverage,” a “world-class mensch,” “a gifted instructor and provoking chief,” one of many “most acerbic audio system in Well being Care over the past 20+ years. By no means afraid to talk reality to energy,” “participating and comprehensible,” “a large.”
I as soon as referred to as him “the narrator of U.S. well being care coverage.” Any journalist who may pay money for him for a well being care story was positive to get pure gold. His wit and precision have been evident in his spoken and written phrase. His command of English was large. His capacity to elucidate to put audiences, legendary. In case you’re unfamiliar, go learn something he wrote for The New York Instances Economix weblog, the place he posted frequently for years. He can train. You’ll be taught.
Born and raised in Germany, he did all of it in a second language. Of this, he reminded audiences frequently. The title of one in every of his displays was, “Nonetheless Confused, After 40 Years in America!” Don’t imagine it. Uwe was all the time the least confused particular person within the room.
He opened many speeches with, “I’m simply an immigrant so possibly I’m lacking one thing concerning the curious American well being care system” (or comparable). I heard it many occasions. It by no means bought previous, notably as a result of I knew what was coming subsequent. Simply after such a gap, he would reveal some peculiarity of the well being system I had by no means observed in the identical means. After which he proceeded to point out the way it was illogical, in violation of fundamental ideas of economics, immoral, or hypocritical.
He was a knife tornado of the primary class. Must you maintain dearly an concept he focused for systematic dismantling, you’d squirm. If solely I may write half as effectively or suppose one-third as clearly.
He touched so many lives and careers, together with my very own.
My first engagement with Uwe was in 2009, over one in every of his Economix posts. Within the feedback to that publish, I requested him for an economics argument in favor of a public possibility. He was sort sufficient to reply at size on to my inquiry in a follow-up Economix publish. I used to be thrilled, at the same time as I took a beating. I documented the encounter on this weblog.
Maybe attributable to my repeated blog-based engagement with him — like a fly that simply gained’t go away — Uwe took some curiosity in what I used to be doing on TIE. He observed my many posts on hospital price shifting and steered that an up to date literature evaluation ought to be revealed. I counter-offered that we do it collectively, and he accepted.
I knew precisely what this meant. I used to be to jot down the primary draft and he would function senior writer and inform me how way more work it wanted. Right here’s the place Uwe stunned me and earned my deepest respect. His response to my first draft was that it was so good he didn’t suppose it proper that his identify seem on it. As an alternative, I ought to publish it solo, together with his assist. That is good mentorship. It was my first solo-authored paper and is my most cited publication.
I met Uwe in particular person solely as soon as, in Princeton in 2010. I used to be there to go to my dad and mom and provides a chat on the Woodrow Wilson Faculty. Studying I’d be on the town, he invited me to lunch. I believed it was simply going to be the 2 of us, however he insisted I deliver my dad and mom too — his deal with. (Upfront of the lunch, with some assist from YouTube, I practiced how you can pronounce his identify. It’s “oo-va” not “you-ee.”)
Although I by no means noticed him once more in particular person, for years I encountered him over electronic mail. Often our threads started with me asking a query or him sharing one in every of his prolonged emails to another scholar or policymaker. (Oh, what a disgrace it’s he didn’t publish these emails for all to see. They have been gems.) However steadily he would electronic mail out of the blue to inquire about my household. He took an curiosity in listening to what my youngsters have been as much as and used that as a chance to remind me how completely different parenting or childhood was in his day.
“Baby rearing is so completely different these days,” he wrote me as soon as. “Once we have been little, we left the home after lunch and got here house for supper, roaming the nation aspect within the meantime (and enjoying with stay ammunition [left over from WW II]).” I’ve only a few folders of saved emails, however this one and others of his I filed away, to not be deleted.
Steadily, within the electronic mail back-and-forth that ensued he would sort out some wonderful story of previous hijinks. Right here’s one:
As soon as, at a Duke College personal sector convention, your entire brass of the AMA occurred to be there. It was my flip on the podium and I couldn’t resist the next stunt.
The late James Sammons, then head of the AMA, had given interview through which he stated Congress had carved Medicare to demise like a turkey. I confirmed a slide of that quote which occurred to have his image subsequent to it. I then confirmed knowledge in keeping with which between 1980 and 1988 constant-dollar Medicare spending on doctor providers per beneficiary rose 83%. Apologizing for this low quantity on behalf of taxpayers (the expansion of 83% actual allegedly didn’t allow physicians to provide the aged enough care), I requested the AMA individuals: “What enhance would have been enough in your view?” So I counted out numbers (on a slide) like an auctioneer – 100%, 120% , …– however by no means bought any takers. After +160% I left a clean spot and stated: “Evidently 160% wouldn’t do it, so that you give me the quantity. Is it 300%?” Icy silence. I then had a slide quoting country-music singer Conway Twitty or whoever it was from his tune: “I would like extra of you (moolah) – extra, something much less wouldn’t do.”
I then I ended saying that Karen Davis and I, each then serving on the PPRC (now Medpac) would suggest a funds for Medicare doctor fee (the VPS), as a result of the docs wouldn’t come to the desk with an affordable quantity.
For some time I actually was banned on the AMA; however later I ended up on the JAMA board.
With tales like this, I considered him because the Richard Feynman of well being coverage — good in his discipline however with an urge for food for journey and sensible jokes. I inspired him many occasions to jot down up tales like these in a guide, interwoven with well being coverage evaluation or historical past. Sadly, he by no means did. Although he took pleasure in his previous escapades, maybe he noticed himself in a different way late in his profession.
“After I was youthful I used to be extra brash,” Uwe wrote me. “Now I’ve mellowed.”
There are lots of giants in academia, and lots of in well being care. However there are none I do know like Uwe.
