Professor, Health Services
Associate Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

(310) 794-2681
Fax: (310) 794-2686
E-mail: Kominski@ucla.edu

Gerald Kominski is Professor of Health Services. He teaches classes in the Microeconomic Theory of the Health Care Sector, Financial Management of Health Care Organizations, Health Services Research Methods, Health Services Organization, and Medical Technology Assessment. Dr. Kominski received his Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985. He also serves as Associate Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Dr. Kominski’s research focuses on evaluating the costs and cost-effectiveness of medical programs and technologies, with a particular emphasis on Medicare payment policies for hospitals and physicians. His other research interests include estimating the financial impacts of alternative approaches to health care reform; and improving access and health outcomes among ethnic and vulnerable populations. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA in 1989, he served as a staff member for the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC) in Washington, D.C., a Congressional agency that monitors and develops Medicare hospital payment.

Selected Publications

Kominski GF, Melnick G. Managed care and the growth of competition. In Andersen RM, Rice T, Kominski GF (eds.), Changing the U.S. Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services, Policy, and Management, 2nd Edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 2001.

Black JT, Kominski GF. Medicare reform. In Andersen RM, Rice T, Kominski GF (eds.), Changing the U.S. Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services, Policy, and Management, 2nd Edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 2001.

Pourat N, Rice T, Kominski GF, Snyder R. Socioeconomic differences in supplemental insurance coverage among Medicare beneficiaries. Health Affairs 2000;19(5):186-196.

Kominski GF, Andersen R, Bastani R, Gould R, Hackman C, Huang D, Jarvik L, Maxwell A, Moye J, Olsen E, Rohrbaugh R, Rosansky J, Taylor S, Van Stone W, UPBEAT Collaborative. UPBEAT: The impact of a psychogeriatric intervention in VA medical centers. Medical Care 2001;39(5):500-512.

Rice T, Snyder RE, Kominski GF, Pourat N. Who switches from Medigap to Medicare HMOs? Health Services Research 2002; 37(1):179-190.

Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H, Harber PI, Kominski GF, Belin TR, Yu F, Adams AH. The effectiveness of physical modalities among low-back pain patients randomized to chiropractic care: findings from the UCLA low-back pain study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2002;25(1):10-20.

Kominski GF, Ho A, Luck J, Simon P, Lim Y, Fielding J. Assessing population burden of disease and injury in Los Angeles county using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Forthcoming in Public Health Reports.

Ko CY, Chang JT, Chaudhry S, Kominski GF. Are high volume surgeons and hospitals the most important predictors of in-hospital outcome for colon cancer resection? Forthcoming in Surgery.

Kominski GF, Pourat N, Black J. The Use of Resource-Based Relative Value Scales for Provider Reimbursement in State Workers’ Compensation Programs. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, September 1999.

Kominski GF. Hospital Admissions for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in Los Angeles County: 1996-1997. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, July 2000.

Kominski GF, Pourat N, Ash D, Yu H, Cantwell M. Evaluation of California’s 24-Hour Coverage Demonstration Program: Final Report. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, November 2001.

Kominski GF, Gardner LB. Inpatient Hospital Fee Schedule and Outpatient Surgery Study. California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, December 2001.

Kominski GF. California Hospital Outcomes Project: Report on Health Attack Outcomes in California, 1994-1996. Volumes 1-4. California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, February 2002.