Megdalynn Fisher

Megdalynn Fisher

PhD Candidate

Talks and Presentations

Racial and Ethnic Segregation in Nursing Homes

September 08, 2023

Presentation, Midwest Health Economics Conference, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois

In this presentation, we discuss our upcoming contribution to the literature measuring and understanding drivers of racial and ethnic sorting (segregation) in the health care setting by constructing dissimilarity indices (DI) for nursing homes. The dissimilarity index, a commonly used measure in residential segregation studies, ranges from 0 to 1 and in our context describes the share of patients in a health care market who would have to switch homes in order for there to be evenness (no segregation) across the providers in that market. Prior work has computed the DI in healthcare settings but provides limited evidence on how the DI varies across geographic areas and/or is based on data more than a decade old. We combine administrative data on all certified nursing homes in the U.S. with health assessments of long-term stay patients residing in those homes for the years 2011 and 2017. Geographically, we define a nursing home market to be a county.

Public Reporting of Nursing Home Antipsychotic Use: Changes in the Reporting of Exclusionary Diagnoses?

February 17, 2023

Presentation, O'Neill Ph.D. Student Association Annual Student Research Conference, Bloomington, Indiana

Following the public reporting of Antipsychotic Medication (APM) use in nursing homes, we document an increase in prevalence of schizophrenia diagnos, a diagnosis which excludes facilities from the public reporting requirement for these residents. Public reporting is designed to reduce off-label use of APMs, increases in schizophrenia diagnosis are an unintended consequence of the policy that may be attributed to either more accurate diagnosis or upcoding.

Hospital Competition, Quality, and Municipal Debt: Do Non-Profit Hospitals Utilize Municipal Market Credit Access to Fund Competition on Quality

November 18, 2022

Poster, Association for Public Policy Analysts and Mangement (APPAM) Annual Conference, Washington D.C.

Using the variation of municipal governments’ credit ratings, I examine associations between Hospital Compare quality ratings, market concentration, and nonprofit hospital municipal market bond issuance to identify the effects of hospital quality measures on bond issuance. Findings include higher bond issuance in counties with lower reported hospital quality.

Tribal Self-Governance and COVID-19 Outcomes

March 15, 2021

Presentation, O’Neill Ph.D. Student Association Annual Conference, Bloomington, Indiana

Does tribal self governance improve COVID-19 outcomes among Native American and Indigenous American populations? I present early findings on collaborative work with Patrick Carlin.

An Advocacy Coalition Framework Approach to Section 340B

February 15, 2020

Presentation, O’Neill Ph.D. Student Association Annual Conference, Bloomington, Indiana

The Section 340B Drug Pricing program is often criticized and defended by various stakeholders. As a program with a nuanced history, growing footprint, poor targeting, and unintended consequences, I explore the program’s development, implementation, and evaluation using an Advocacy Coalition Framework to conceptualize the public policy process.

The Hope of Mankind

April 20, 2017

Oral Recitation, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah

Fisher, Megdalynn. “The Hope of Mankind,” Oral recitation at the celebration of the inaugural edition of The Journal of Student Leadership, Orem, Utah, April 20, 2017.

Rising Food Prices: The Case of Childhood Poverty in a Developed Economy

April 06, 2017

Presentation, National Confernece on Undergraduate Research, Memphis, TN

Fisher, Megdalynn. “Rising Food Prices: The Case of Childhood Poverty in a Developed Economy.” Oral presentation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), Memphis, Tennessee, April 6, 2017.