Murray N. Ross, Ph.D.

Vice President and Director

Murray Ross is Vice President, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Director of the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy in Oakland, California.  Kaiser Permanente (KP) is the nation’s largest private integrated delivery system, providing health care to over eight million people in nine states and the District of Columbia.  The Institute for Health Policy supports research, expert roundtables, and conferences all intended to increase understanding of policy issues and help identify solutions.

Dr. Ross brings the valuable ability to absorb and synthesize complex health care issues, and to explain the practical implications of market developments and public policies to government leaders and health care industry decision makers.  As a result, he is sought after as a speaker to national and international audiences on a wide range of health care topics. He holds a wealth of knowledge of the intricacies of Medicare and advises KP's leadership on business and public policy issues arising from ongoing changes in that program. His current policy research focuses on how the U.S. health system can make more effective use of new drugs, devices, and medical procedures and how to encourage greater integration of care delivery to improve quality.  Dr. Ross holds a number of internal and external advisory positions.

Before joining Kaiser Permanente in 2002, Dr. Ross spent most of his professional career as a policy advisor to the United States Congress. He served almost five years as the executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an influential nonpartisan agency charged with making recommendations on Medicare policy issues to the Congress. Previously, he spent nine years at the Congressional Budget Office, lastly heading up the group charged with assessing the budgetary impact of legislative proposals affecting the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Dr. Ross earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Arizona State University.  He enjoys running, writing, and traveling.