Adam C. Powell, Ph.D.

Adam C. Powell, Ph.D. is Partner and President of Payer+Provider, a consulting firm which uses teams of economists, health services researchers, and physicians to provide precise answers to operational challenges faced by health insurance companies and hospitals. A healthcare economist and published author, Dr. Powell's specialty is using statistical techniques to examine issues concerning technology, operations, and firm decision making. He holds a Doctorate and Master’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Health Care Management and Economics. He also holds Bachelor's degrees in Management Science and Writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Outside of work, he exhibits his art and studies Mandarin Chinese.

Dr. Powell’s career is focused both on using economic techniques to examine the provision and financing of healthcare, and on bringing theory to life by working with clients in those industries. He has consulted for three of America’s top five health insurance networks, and founded the payer consulting practice of Penn Biotech Group prior to founding Payer+Provider. Over the course of his consulting career, Dr. Powell has helped multiple health insurers understand and react to the Affordable Care Act (America’s 2010 healthcare reform) by examining issues including how health insurance can be sold at retail locations, how it can be sold to individuals, and how it can best be marketed to small businesses. His research on healthcare providers has addressed topics including how hospitals decide which medical devices to buy, how reductions in service quality due to high workload impact hospital reimbursements, and how hospitals’ costs are impacted by substituting nurses for physicians. Prior to founding Payer+Provider, Dr. Powell worked for Humana (a health insurer), Microsoft, Oliver Wyman Health & Life Sciences, and UBS.

Dr. Powell’s research has been published in a wide variety of venues, ranging from Manufacturing & Service Operations Management to The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and his economic commentary has been featured in the popular media through sites including Becker’s Hospital Review, KevinMD, Minyanville, Reuter’s, Seeking Alpha, and Yahoo! Finance. Dr. Powell is a former recipient of the National Research Service Award.