Faculty Profile
Carolyn Watts, Ph.D.
Dr. Watts is a Professor of Health Economics in the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington, with adjunct appointments in the Graduate School of Public Affairs and the Department of Economics. She is also Director of the Resource Center for Health Policy. Dr. Watts is the UW principle investigator on a three-year grant from HRSA (through the Washington State Department of Health) to examine genetic services delivery and policy. In addition to the Genetic Services Policy Project, Dr. Watts has worked on a variety of research and evaluation projects, most in the area of provider reimbursement and industry structure. Dr. Watts was principal investigator of a five-year evaluation of Washington's Basic Health Plan (BHP, funded by the Agency for Health Care Policy Research). She was also co-investigator on several companion projects comparing the BHP to a similar program in Maine (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) as well as a Medicaid-BHP joint venture. She was part of a three-institution research team that conducted the "Snapshots" evaluation for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an exploration of the activity of the health care market in 15 U.S. communities. For five years, Dr. Watts served as principal investigator on two Robert Wood Johnson funded projects to design and implement a risk-adjusted payment system for Washington's SSI Medicaid program and the state employee benefit program administered by the Washington Health Care Authority. In addition to her research, Dr. Watts teaches courses in health economics and health policy.