William Bleser

William K. Bleser, PhD, MSPH, is assistant research director, payment reform and population health at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University in Washington, D.C. In this role, Dr. Bleser’s work revolves around addressing key policy questions related to health care delivery, with particular attention to the overlap of health care payment reform and population health. His portfolio of work includes a focus on peer-reviewed research as well as policy briefs, issue briefs, and convening and collaborating with relevant stakeholders to have real-world impact. This work includes empirical quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and policy analyses related to accountable care and other alternative payment models or risk-based contracts for population health, specialty care, and marginalized populations. This includes a building portfolio of work on how value-based payment models can better address social needs and improve health equity.

Before coming to Duke, Dr. Bleser worked at the Pennsylvania State University on grant-funded research studying inequities in preventive health services, evaluating national health quality improvement efforts, and achieving change to the patient-centered medical home delivery reform model. He also previously worked for the Department of Health and Human Services on improving adult influenza vaccine coverage and better understanding rare adverse events to influenza vaccines (and still conducts vaccine research). He earned his PhD from the Pennsylvania State University jointly in health policy and in demography, his Master of Science in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in disease epidemiology and control, and his BS from the College of William and Mary in neuroscience.

Dr. Bleser is speaking on behalf of himself, from the Duke-Margolis Center. He is not officially representing or speaking on behalf of the Duke-Margolis Center or Duke University.