Counteracting the Market Dominance That Keeps Health Care So Expensive Research by UCLA Luskin's Wesley Yin is one of several projects made possible by nearly $55 million in awards to the school

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Americans are facing rising health expenses year after year, with many compelled to skip or delay the care their families need. To investigate the root causes of this barrier to affordability, UCLA Luskin’s Wesley Yin has embarked on a pair of ambitious studies of market power in the health care industry — and how it might be checked.

Yin’s research, funded by the nonprofit Arnold Ventures, will seek to answer several questions:

How has consolidation in the industry — mergers among hospitals, physician practices, insurers, and pharmaceutical managers, for example —  eroded competition?

How has the market dominance of hospitals and other medical care providers suppressed wages in the health sector — an industry that accounts for 18% of the U.S. economy?

Can “public option” health insurance plans, with cost structures set by government statute, exert enough pressure to counteract the price-negotiating power of dominant providers, leading to lower health care bills?

Headshot of man in suit, white shirt, tie

Professor Yin will tap into powerful research tools to explore market forces in the health sector.

“There are a lot of markets in the U.S. economy that are no longer competitive. This can generate some benefits at times. But the broad concern is that this can create a lot of distortions in the markets, which ultimately bear down on consumers and on workers through higher prices, fewer options, and lower wages,” said Yin, a UCLA Luskin professor of public policy with a joint appointment at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

“Health care is an industry where this concentration has been rising for decades.”

Yin’s two-year study was made possible by a $466,000 grant from Arnold Ventures, which funds research into policy solutions that address inequity and injustice. It is one of several grants and contracts that have brought nearly $55 million to the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs from April to October 2025.

By far the largest component of that funding — more than $47 million — is from federal, state, and county agencies that contract with UCLA Luskin Social Welfare to administer social services and training programs.

Philanthropic groups, nonprofits, community organizations, and public agencies have also stepped up to support UCLA Luskin research spanning the school’s broad portfolio: fair housing, water quality, voting rights, K-12 education, parking reform, and more.

The common thread is a desire to find policy solutions to the most pressing issues of our time, with donors turning to UCLA for its extensive faculty expertise and deep resources as a top-tier research university.

Yin’s work draws on his experience as a scholar, economist and public servant. Motivated by a desire to understand the causes and consequences of excessive market power, he recently co-authored a high-impact study of the crippling impact of medical debt in America.

In the Biden Administration, Yin served as Chief Economist of the White House Office of Management and Budget, where he helped advance policies surrounding affordability and competition. In the Obama Administration a decade earlier, he helped implement the Affordable Care Act during his service in the Department of Treasury and Council of Economic Advisors.

For his current project on the health care industry’s market power, Yin and his research team will tap into powerful resources, including the Federal Statistical Research Data Center, housed in the UCLA Luskin Public Affairs building. Access is highly selective, requiring security clearances and confidentiality agreements — but the massive trove of data opens up vast opportunities for novel research.

Yin has secured permission to analyze anonymized U.S. Census Bureau and Internal Revenue Service files to assess the impact of consolidation in the health care industry on workers’ earnings and job stability — including the potential for lopsided bargaining power and wage inequality.

For a second investigation funded by the grant, Yin and his team will review records from Washington state’s public option health care program, the first in the nation. They hope to identify how such public-private partnerships in procurement can best be structured to act as a brake on soaring health care costs.

“In theory, a public option, if it’s structured well, could try to achieve the prices of what a competitive market would have achieved,” said Yin. “The big question is how to design a public option program with teeth that also supports a healthy hospital market. This project essentially is to understand this.”

Tribal Casinos Lift Living Standards, Study Finds

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Tribal casino operations boost wages for American Indians and reduce unemployment for nearby people of all races employed in casino-related industries. In addition, per-capita payments of casino profits may have contributed to improved living standards, on average, for tribal citizens living on reservations.

These are the findings of a recent working paper co-authored by UCLA Luskin’s Randall Akee, a professor of public policy and American Indian studies, and summarized in a U.S. Census Bureau report.

Using census data to evaluate ZIP-code-level economic impacts, the researchers showed that the expansion of tribal casinos that began in the 1990s has helped improve conditions faster for American Indians relative to the U.S. population as a whole.

American Indians living on reservations experienced a roughly 11% decrease in childhood poverty, an increase of about 7% in labor force participation by American Indian women, and a 4% reduction in overall unemployment, Akee and his colleagues found.

Yet there is still progress to be made: The American Indian poverty rate was 19.6% in 2024, greater than that year’s national average of 12.1%, according to Census Bureau data.

A Tradition of Family Sacrifices in the Black Community

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A house purchased on behalf of a grandniece in need of stability is the focus of a federal indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has pleaded not guilty. The case has resonated among many Black women in America who have stepped up to help loved ones experiencing hardship.

Research shows that many upwardly mobile Black women and men feel a steep cultural obligation to provide assistance to extended relatives, even at their own expense.

UCLA Luskin’s Jasmine D. Hill told the New York Times that the practice can be especially connected to one’s sense of identity in Black communities.

Hill’s research found that even those “on the verge of economic ruin themselves” sometimes provide significant financial support to immediate and extended relatives, pulling from emergency savings and emptying retirement accounts.

“Black families, and Black women particularly, have had to figure out ways to essentially be an unhonored social safety net in the United States,” said Hill, an assistant professor of public policy and sociology.

Q&A: Advancing Equity for Immigrant Communities with MPP Student Jenny Jihyun Kim A David Bohnett Fellow reflects on turning policy training into meaningful action.

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You were recently selected as a David Bohnett Fellow with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. What excites you most about this opportunity, and how do you see it advancing your career goals?

I am deeply honored to be selected as a David Bohnett Fellow with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, especially at a time when Los Angeles, as a city, is at the forefront of protecting and uplifting immigrant communities. This opportunity excites me because it allows me to see firsthand how local government can translate values into action. For example, working on Executive Directive 12, which is designed to strengthen protections and access to city services for immigrant families, has allowed me to witness how policy can directly improve and make a difference in people’s lives. Throughout my time at the UCLA Luskin MPP Program, I often reflected on what it means to create equitable, evidence-based policy. At the mayor’s office of immigrant affairs, I see how this applies in real life. I observed how data, advocacy, and collaboration converge to shape city policy and address issues faced by the community. This experience as a David Bohnett fellow directly advances my long-term career goal of becoming a leader who bridges communities and policymakers. With my background in grassroots organizing and now my exposure to policymaking in local government, I’m developing the skills and the perspective needed to be an effective advocate for immigrant rights and equity in public policy.

“I aspire to be an advocate within the spaces of policy and ensure that community members are not just represented in policy discussions, but they are brought in as active partners in shaping policy.”

As part of your fellowship, you’re working inside a government office where policy decisions are made and implemented. What have you learned so far about how public policy actually takes shape in practice, and how has that influenced your perspective as a future policymaker?

Working inside the Mayor’s Office has shown me that policy-making and policy implementation are a collaborative effort. It has shown me that it’s not just about writing good policy, but also that building relationships and trust is crucial. In being part of the team leading the Executive Directive 12, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside policy makers, a team of lawyers, community leaders, city department leaders, and other various stakeholders, each bringing a unique perspective and ideas to the table. Through this process, I am seeing how much coordination and communication it takes to ensure that a policy is implemented equitably with the right intentions. One key lesson I have observed and learned is that equitable policy “making” requires ongoing conversation with those most impacted. The power to make meaningful change lies in the community, and it is when you work with directly impacted people that policy becomes more grounded and sustainable. This experience has influenced my perspective as a future policymaker by reinforcing that creating meaningful change requires centering the voices of those with lived experiences. I’ve also learned that implementation and accountability are just as critical as policy design itself, also recognizing that implementation requires continuous communication and collaboration.

The Luskin School emphasizes hands-on learning and connecting policy theory with real-world practice. Can you share an example of how your coursework or training has directly informed your fieldwork or fellowship projects?

My coursework at UCLA Luskin has taught me to critically analyze social issues through both quantitative and qualitative lenses. I learned that it is not only about understanding what the problem is, but also why it exists, how proposed policies might create intended and unintended consequences, how to provide recommendations to relevant stakeholders, how to evaluate recommendations, and how to work collaboratively on implementing them. For example, I have observed in meetings with policymakers and community leaders how qualitative and quantitative data are constantly discussed. I learned that narratives of impacted community members alongside quantitative data reflecting the scope of their experiences play a significant role in informing and shaping policy decisions. Additionally, in my Methods of Policy Analysis class, I learned about the various evaluation criteria, including effectiveness, equity, efficiency, feasibility, and more. When meeting with all City Departments’ Immigrant Affairs Liaison to support the implementation of Executive Directive 12, I was able to bring this analytical lens into practice. I considered how each department’s role and its programs impact the directive’s effectiveness and equity in serving immigrant communities. Remembering the different frameworks I learned at Luskin, I was able to contribute to discussions about the accessibility of city resources in multiple languages and ensuring that City Departments account for diverse factors that could influence implementation in their respective fields.

Looking ahead, how do you envision leveraging your Luskin education and professional experiences to drive change for immigrant and underserved communities—both locally and globally?

Through my time at Luskin and my professional experiences, I have witnessed how evidence-based policy, cross-sector collaboration, and community engagement can come together to create meaningful change for the immigrant and underserved communities. At NAKASEC, I learned about grassroots organizing. At the UCLA Dream Resource Center and Labor Center, I learned about research justice. At Luskin, I am learning about policy and policy analysis. At the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, I am learning about putting my MPP knowledge into practice. While I recognize I have much to learn, I aspire to be an advocate within the spaces of policy and ensure that community members are not just represented in policy discussions, but they are brought in as active partners in shaping policy.

Five or ten years from now, where do you hope to be, and what kind of impact do you ultimately want to make through your career in public policy?

In five to ten years, I hope to be working in a leadership role within a local or regional government abroad or with an international organization, where I can continue to design, research, recommend, implement, and evaluate policies that advance equity and protect the rights of immigrant and underserved communities. My goal is to be a public policy expert who brings both professional expertise and lived experience as an immigrant to the table, ensuring that community voices are included in decision-making and that human rights remain at the center of public policy. Ultimately, I hope to conduct my own research analyzing the evolving patterns of human migration and to develop actionable policy recommendations for countries to promote safe, dignified, and equitable migration journeys. I aspire to contribute to advancing social systems where migrants have access to essential resources and services, and where they are empowered to make informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Segura on Bread-and-Butter Issues Driving Latinos to the Polls

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Media outlets reporting on the influence and priorities of the nation’s Latino electorate spoke to Gary Segura, UCLA Luskin professor of public policy and an authority on polling research.

A new nationwide UnidosUS poll that Segura helped conduct found that the cost of living is a top concern, while immigration ranks fifth.

Many Latinos feel that they can’t make ends meet, Segura told the Miami Herald. “The fear of losing their job, the inability to afford increased housing costs, the increased health care costs … none of these things have been alleviated since Trump took office,” he said.

Segura also spoke with the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee. He noted that the power of California’s Latino voting bloc is growing; only 50% of the poll respondents had voted prior to 2020 but 75% said they planned to vote in 2026.

“My advice to candidates in both parties is that they need to get out there and speak to the largest constituency in the state and see what their policy needs are and act on them,” Segura said.

What California Must Do to Meet High School Graduation Requirements for 2030

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A survey of teacher readiness programs at California colleges and universities found that three in four offer ethnic studies preparation for their future K-12 educators, according to recent research by UCLA and Stanford University. But with uneven access to quality curriculum and a lack of dedicated funding, some public high schools may be unable to offer courses that meet the ethnic studies requirements that their students will need to graduate.

Assembly Bill 101, signed into law in 2021, requires that California high school students take one semester of an ethnic-studies-related course to graduate, beginning with the class of 2030. This means that it will apply to students entering high school next year.

The survey, led by Veronica Terriquez, director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, and Albert Camarillo, an emeritus professor at Stanford, sought to address potential gaps in teaching these required courses.

“We wanted to understand whether colleges and universities are taking meaningful steps to prepare future teachers to engage students in a deeper examination of the histories and experiences that shape California and the nation,” said Terriquez, a professor of urban planning and Chicana/o and Central American studies.

One challenge is that no additional state funding exists for this work. “While we found institutions have taken steps in the right direction, often with limited resources, there is still much work to be done,” Terriquez said.

Conducted in late 2024 and early 2025, the survey analyzed responses from education degree programs at 34 higher education institutions in the state — six University of California campuses, 11 California State University schools and 17 private institutions.

Read the full story

Tilly on Global Impact of U.S. Economic Data Interruption

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Urban Planning Professor Chris Tilly spoke with Chile’s El Mercurio about the U.S. government shutdown, the longest in the nation’s history.

Tilly weighed in on the interruption of reliable economic data produced by the government. U.S. agencies that produce key indicators such as the Consumer Price Index, monthly employment report, and retail sales figures have suspended or reduced many of their operations due to a lack of funding.

Global markets and central banks are also affected, Tilly told the Spanish-language news outlet.

“The lack of data directly affects international markets,” he said. “Investors depend on data to make their decisions, and this situation generates uncertainty in investment decisions.”

California Communities Impacted by Thousands of Oil and Gas Wells that Feed the Plastic Industry

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By Colleen Callahan and Dan Coffee

Plastic production and use have increased exponentially, as have the health and environmental impacts. To address this growing problem, California passed Senate Bill 54 to reduce the use of single-use plastics and foodware in the state. The bill also created a $5 billion fund, supported by the plastic industry, to mitigate plastic-related pollution and support disadvantaged, low-income, and rural communities hurt most by the impacts of plastic.

The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation released a report to inform how this law could be implemented by mapping a clear link between fossil fuel infrastructure, plastic production, and vulnerable communities experiencing negative health impacts. It highlights that the state’s work to reduce plastics-related pollution should also consider oil and gas extraction and refining. The report, which builds upon the researchers’ Three-Part Framework for Identifying Plastic-Burdened Communities, finds that wells and refineries are concentrated in low-income communities of color that face other sources of pollution and socioeconomic hardships.

“We found that Californians living near polluting oil and gas sites are much more likely to be Latino or Black, face multiple sources of pollution, and suffer higher risks of cancer, respiratory illness, and reproductive health complications,” said Veronica Herrera, the report’s co-author and a Luskin Center for Innovation-affiliated scholar. “Often, these are low-income communities who may have fewer resources with which to address these compounding issues,” added Herrera, who is an associate professor of urban planning and political science.

The most significant clusters of wells and refineries in California occur in the Bakersfield and Los Angeles regions. Kern County, including Bakersfield, is home to over 70,000 active or idle oil and gas wells — a majority of the nearly 100,000 statewide. Los Angeles County is home to 11 of the state’s 21 operating refineries, with a particular concentration in the working-class community of Wilmington adjacent to the Port of Los Angeles. This research comes after the recent Chevron El Segundo refinery explosion.

“Plastics have been pushed on us by Big Oil, and frontline communities are paying the price,” said Dr. Zoe Cunliffe, Environmental Justice Program Manager at Black Women for Wellness, and a member of the Environmental Justice Communities Against Plastics coalition that advised on the UCLA study.

UCLA’s environmental justice-centered framework is intended to go beyond the broad guidelines written into SB 54, providing an in-depth look at where impacts from the entire plastic life cycle fall across the state.

By using data to see which communities bear the brunt of plastic impacts, we have given decision-makers the information they need to target investments where it will do the most good. —Daniel Coffee, Luskin Center for Innovation project manager and co-author of the study

Fossil fuels are part of this framework because they provide the raw materials necessary to manufacture plastic. Nearly all plastic (99%) is made from oil and gas, and the size of the plastic industry continues to grow. Under current trends, by 2050, 20% of the world’s oil production will go toward making plastic. Increases in plastic waste and pollution are likely to follow.

The report recommends the following policy actions:

  • California’s governance decisions around fossil fuels must take plastic-related environmental injustices into account.
  • Communities with high exposure risks from the plastic supply chain are good candidates for comprehensive investment programs.

Learn more about this research to inform plastic policy.

Keeping California Children Cool: Strategies for Safe Schools and Homes

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By Mara Elana Burstein

As heat waves become more frequent and intense, many California children face unsafe indoor temperatures where they spend most of their time — at home and at school. Access to cooling in homes and schools is now a public health necessity, not a luxury.

Building on years of research on heat resilience and school safety, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation has released a report offering policymakers a menu of strategies to expand access to cooling in homes and schools. The recommendations focus on the installation and maintenance of air conditioning and other mechanical cooling systems, offering practical, evidence-based options for state leaders seeking to protect children where they live and learn.

Children shouldn’t have to choose between their health and their education. Our research shows that California can take immediate, concrete steps to make schools and homes safer from heat. — Lana Zimmerman, project manager and lead author of the report

The report outlines a set of policy and regulatory actions California leaders can adopt:

  • Set indoor temperature standards for schools and plan similar action during the 2031 Building Standards Code update, or sooner as an emergency health and safety measure.
  • Track cooling access in schools, as the state already does for homes.
  • Coordinate agencies through a state-level advisory committee.
  • Fund existing programs that support equitable access to indoor cooling by serving high-need schools, homes, and regions.
  • Centralize public information and simplify funding processes for local governments and communities.
  • Prioritize equity by investing in high-need regions and supporting workforce training for cooling system installation.

These strategies are informed by new data from the 2025 Luskin California Poll that reveal gaps in access to indoor cooling and public opinion on state action. In the survey, nearly half of parents said they’ve kept their kids home because of heat, and yet one in ten households with children lack working air conditioning (AC). Many more Californians avoid using their AC because of high energy bills.

“Expanding access to cooling is about more than comfort. It’s about health and equity,” said V. Kelly Turner, associate director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. “The solutions outlined in our report recognize that children in low-income households and communities of color are often the most exposed to heat and have the least resources to respond,” added Turner, who is also an associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin.

As California implements new investments in school modernization, clean energy, and community resilience, this research offers a timely guide for aligning those efforts. The report, “Keeping Californians Safe with Cooling Systems in Homes and Schools,” underscores that keeping classrooms cool and homes safe is essential to a healthy, equitable future for the state’s children.

Protecting Democracy and the 2025 Redistricting Battles: A Conversation with Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra and UCLA scholars warn that the fight for fair representation is far from over.

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As our country prepares for another election cycle, questions about representation and the integrity of American democracy continue to dominate public discourse. On October 28, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs hosted “Protecting Democracy and the 2025 Redistricting Battles,” a Luskin Lecture co-sponsored by the UCLA Voting Rights Project. The event featured former California Attorney General and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, who delivered a keynote address on the challenges and opportunities in protecting democracy ahead of the next round of redistricting. 

Becerra was joined by Chad Dunn, director of litigation for the UCLA Voting Rights Project and a lead litigator in the ongoing Texas redistricting lawsuit, and Dr. Natalie Masuoka, professor of Political Science and Asian American Studies at UCLA and an expert on voting behavior and minority representation. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Matt Barreto, professor of Political Science and Chicana/o Studies and faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project. 

Drawing from his decades of public service at the state and federal level, Becerra underscored the fragility of democratic systems when power is unchecked. “As we’ve seen over the last 10 months, the federal government has a ton of power, and wields it in ways that exceed what the Constitution intends,” he said. “There are limits to federal power, but if you have someone who decides to exceed the scope of that power, you can see how damaging it can be for the states.” 

Throughout the evening, panelists emphasized the critical importance of ensuring that voters retain control over the redistricting process. Becerra contrasted California’s citizen-led commission process with state-controlled redistricting systems in Texas and Florida. “In California, voters have a say. In Texas, the people living in those voting districts have no say in how the maps are drawn,” he said. 

The conversation explored the upcoming Proposition 50 vote in California, which would temporarily establish new district boundaries based on the latest population data. Becerra and his fellow panelists examined how the proposal could affect representation, particularly for communities of color. 

Dunn, who has spent years challenging partisan gerrymandering, framed the issue as a fundamental question of voter rights. “I believe the right to vote is individual, not aggregate,” he said. “If someone is being gerrymandered on the basis of their political views, that is a violation of their right to vote, full stop. And there ought to be a redress for it in court.” 

He went on to note that the composition of Congress does not currently reflect the nation’s diversity. “This action to silence voters on the basis of their race and political views will be successful to some degree,” Dunn said. “What California does to press back on it isn’t just fighting fire with fire—it’s ensuring that Congress is as representative as it can be of this nation as a whole.” 

Dr. Masuoka emphasized the dual nature of redistricting: while it can be used to suppress certain communities, it can also be a tool for empowerment. “Redistricting can discriminate and marginalize voices of color, but the reason we passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act is that redistricting can also increase minority voting power,” she said. “As we look forward to voting on Prop 50, we can protect democracy and ensure that we have protections for voters of color.” 

Becerra urged the students in the audience to remain vigilant and engaged. “The most powerful weapon we have is truth—and the willingness to use our voices and our cameras to protect it.” 

View photos from the event on Flickr.
Protecting Democracy and the 2025 Redistricting Battles