To support and continue the work of our longstanding Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative, Paragon Health Institute invites research proposals on topics related to the Trump administration’s Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative.

Over the past 15 years, federal health policy has focused primarily on expanding health insurance coverage and increasing medical care utilization. Despite enormous cost to taxpayers, these efforts have produced dismal results.

The President’s initiative recognizes that restoring American health and longevity will not be achieved with a sole focus on expanding eligibility in government programs. The Paragon Health Institute aims to stimulate and support discussion of broader policy reforms related to  subjects such as physical activity, food and nutrition, work, and social connectedness. We also welcome work that explores structural improvements to health-related federal and state policymaking, including an evaluation of outcomes of existing programs, streamlining and consolidating redundant programs, and ending counterproductive programs.

In particular, we seek:

(1)         Research on the topics listed below, particularly on how government regulations or barriers may worsen Americans’ health, and

(2)         Market-based solutions that focus on reducing government regulations and reforms that seek to improve health by increasing choice and competition.

We welcome proposals for products of different types and lengths, including policy briefs and research papers. Authors will be entitled to receive an honorarium based on the nature and complexity of the project.

Potential topics

• The rise in sedentary behavior in the U.S., particularly among children and adolescents; what policies have contributed to these trends; and what reforms could help encourage more physical activity.
• The impact of phone-free school policies on health, physical activity, community, and discipline.
• Importance of social engagement, relationships (including marriage), and community on health and evaluation of government policies that foster dependence on government rather than social engagement and community.
• The effects of USDA dietary recommendations and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on nutrition and health outcomes such as body mass index and obesity.
• Policies that improve access to healthy food in low-income areas.
• Conflicting incentives, overlap, and redundancy among federal nutrition programs and reforms to streamline these programs.
• Low-value and counterproductive medical care, including the inappropriate use of pharmaceuticals to treat behavioral and mental health problems, particularly in children; the excessive use of imaging; and unnecessary screening/diagnostic tests.
• Reforming health insurance and related welfare programs (especially Medicaid and CHIP) to improve prevention and treatment of chronic illness.
• Evaluation of state-based efforts to introduce MAHA reforms.
• How regulations protect market incumbents while negatively affecting the cost, availability, and innovation of new models of care and medical products.

Submission guidelines

• Proposals should be succinct (approximately 200-500 words)
• Briefly summarize existing research on the topic
• Explain how this proposed research would contribute to the policy debate
• If the research involves original empirical work, describe the data and methods you intend to use
• Provide an estimate of how much time you would need to deliver a complete draft and an estimate of any funding needs (e.g., purchasing datasets).

Please e-mail submissions to Liam Sigaud at [email protected] with subject line: “MAHA research proposal.”