Vivian Ho

Vivian Ho, Ph.D., is a health economist who holds the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice University. Ho serves as a professor in the Department of Economics at Rice University, a professor in the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and a nonresident senior scholar in the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. She directs the Center for Health and Biosciences at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, where she connects academic research with policy analysis at local, state, and national levels. Ho earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University, a graduate diploma in economics from The Australian National University, and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University.

Ho's research examines the effects of economic incentives and regulations on health care quality and costs, focusing on the causes of rising health care and insurance expenses and policy solutions. Her work addresses hospital market dynamics, including price transparency, market consolidation, and the relationship between nonprofit hospital profits and community benefit. Ho's research has appeared in economics, medical, and health services research journals and has received funding from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the American Cancer Society, and Arnold Ventures. She received the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's HCUP Article of the Year in the Policy Category for her research on smoking bans, cigarette taxes, and hospitalizations, and was recognized with the Justin F. Kimball Patient Protection Award.

Throughout her career, Ho has analyzed key issues in health economics, including the impact of hospital consolidation on health care prices and value. Her work has shown that consolidation can increase bargaining power for health systems, raising prices without corresponding improvements in patient value. Ho has advocated for health care price transparency as a solution to rising costs, highlighting the disadvantages consumers face due to hidden pricing. She has also developed strategies to address high insurance premiums by providing patients with reliable information about health care costs, with models implemented in Massachusetts.

Ho is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, recognizing her professional achievement and service in health and medicine. She has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics and on the National Institutes of Health Health Services, Outcomes and Delivery study section. Ho is a founding board member of the American Society for Health Economists and serves on the Community Advisory Board at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. Her expertise in health policy and economics has been featured in USA Today, Houston Chronicle, KFF Health News, and national podcasts. Ho has delivered public lectures, including the Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech, sharing her research on health care affordability and policy with diverse audiences.