Title(s): Professor, John W. Colloton Chair, and Head
Department: Health Management and Policy
Office: N232A CPHB
Phone: (319) 384-3814
Dr. Wehby is a Professor, the John W. Colloton Chair, and Head of the Department of Health Management and Policy. He teaches health economics and health services research methods. His research examines social, economic, and policy impacts on health, especially among children. Dr. Wehby has an active externally funded research program and has received numerous NIH grants. He has published over 140 articles in academic peer-reviewed journals. He holds secondary appointments in the Department of Economics, the Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, and the Public Policy Center. Dr. Wehby is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
PhD in Health Services and Policy focal area
- Health Economics
Selected Publications (out of 140+ publications):
Wehby GL, Murray JC, Castilla EE, Lopez-Camelo JS, Ohsfeldt RL. “Quantile effects of prenatal care on birth weight in Argentina.” Health Economics. 2009; 18:1307-21.
Wehby GL, Murray JC, McCarthy AM, Castilla EE. “Racial Gaps in Child Health Insurance Coverage in Four South American Countries: The Role of Wealth, Human Capital and Other Household Characteristics.” Health Services Research. 2011; 46:2119-38.
Wehby GL, Prater K, McCarthy AM, Castilla EE, Murray JC. “The impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy on early child neurodevelopment.” Journal of Human Capital. 2011; 5:207-254.
Wehby GL, McCarthy AM, Castilla EE, Murray JC. “The Impact of Household Investments on Early Child Neurodevelopment and on Racial and Socioeconomic Developmental Gaps in South America.” Forum for Health Economics & Policy. 2011; 14 (Article 11):1-58.
Wehby GL and Courtemanche C. “The Heterogeneity of Cigarette Price Effects on Body Weight”. Journal of Health Economics. 2012; 31:719-29.
Wehby GL, Ullrich F, and Xie Y. “Hospital Volume of Very Low Birth Weight Infants and In-Hospital Mortality: An Instrumental Variables Study”. Medical Care. 2012; 50:714-21
Wehby GL, Castilla EE, Lopez-Camelo Jorge. “Hospital Volume and Mortality of Very Low Birth Weight Infants in South America.” Health Services Research. 2012; 47:1502-21.
Guarnizo Herreno C and Wehby GL. “Explaining racial/ethnic disparities in children’s dental health: a decomposition analysis.” American Journal of Public Health. 2012; 102:859-66
Nyarko K, Lopez-Camelo J, Castilla EE, and Wehby GL. “Explaining Racial Disparities in Infant Health in Brazil”. American Journal of Public Health. 2013; 103:1675-84.
Wehby GL. “Child health insurance and early preventive care in three South American countries.” Health Policy and Planning. 2013; 28:328-38.
Wehby GL and McCarthy AM. “Economic Gradients in Early Child Neurological Development: A Multi-country Study”. Social Science and Medicine. 2013; 78:86-95.
von Hinke Kessler Scholder S, Wehby GL, Zuccolo L, and Lewis S. “Alcohol Exposure In Utero and Child Academic Achievement”. Economic Journal. 2014; 124: 634–667.
Wehby GL, Nyarko K, Lopez-Camelo JS. “Fetal Health Shocks and Early Inequalities in Health Capital Accumulation”. Health Economics. 2014; 23:69-92.
Woodhouse C, Lopez-Camelo J, and Wehby GL. “The Effect of Prenatal Care on Birth Weight in South America: A multi-Country Study”. PLOS One. 2014;9:e91292.
Wehby GL, Collet B, Barron S, Romitti P, Ansley T, Speltz M. “Academic Achievement of Children and Adolescents with Oral Clefts.” Pediatrics.2014; 133:785-92.
Guarnizo Herreno C and Wehby GL. “Dentist Supply and Children’s Dental Health in the United States”. American Journal of Public Health. 2014.e1-e7.
Wehby GL, Domingue BW, Boardman JD. “Prevention, Use of Health Services, and Genes: Implications of Genetics for Policy Formation”. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 2015; 34:519-36.
Courtemanche C, Pinkston J, Ruhm C, Wehby G. “Can Changing Economic Incentives Explain the Rise in Obesity?” Southern Economic Journal. 2016; 82:1266-1310
Ayyagari P, Shane D, Wehby G. “The Impact of Medicare Part D on Emergency Department Visits”. Health Economics. 2017; 26:536-544.
Wehby GL, Gimenez L, Lopez-Camelo J. “The Impact of Unemployment Cycles on Child and Maternal Health in Argentina”. International Journal of Public Health. 2017; 62:197-207.
Wehby GL, Domingue B, Ullrich F, Wolinsky F. Genetic Predisposition to Obesity and Medicare Expenditures. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2017; 73:66-72.
Shane D and Wehby G. “The Impact of the Affordable Care Act’s Dependent Coverage Mandate on Use of Dental Treatments and Preventive Services”. Medical Care. 2017; 55:841-847.
Wehby GL and Lopez-Camelo J. “Maternal Education Gradients in Infant Health in Four South American Countries”. Maternal and Child Health. 2017; 21:2122-2131.
Obrizan M, Wehby GL. “Health Expenditures and Global Inequalities in Longevity”. World Development. 2018; 101:28-36.
Wehby GL, Domingue B, and Wolinsky F. “Genetic Risks for Chronic Conditions: Implications for Long-Term Wellbeing”. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2018; 73:477-483.
Wehby GL, Pawluk M, Nyarko KA, López-Camelo JS. “Explaining Ethnic Disparities in Preterm Birth in Argentina and Ecuador”. Global Public Health. 2018; 13:1126- 1143
Wehby GL and Lyu L. “The Impact of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage by Age, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender”. Health Services Research. 2018; 53:1248-1271.
Shane D and Wehby G. “Mental Well-being of Young Adults Following the ACA Dependent Coverage Mandate”. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics. 2018; 21:171-180.
Wehby G and Shane D “Genetic Variation in Health Insurance Coverage”. International Journal of Health Economics and Management. 2019; 19(3-4):301-316.
Dave D, Kaestner R, and Wehby G. “Does public insurance coverage for pregnant women affect prenatal health behaviors?.” Journal of Population Economics. 2019; 32:419-453.
Brown E and Wehby G. “Economic Conditions and Drug and Opioid Overdose Deaths”. Medical Care Research and Review. 2019; 76:462-477.
Ugi P, Lyu W, and Wehby GL. “The Effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Children’s Health Coverage”. Medical Care. 2019; 57:115-122.
Lyu W, and Wehby GL. “The Impacts of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Cancer Screening Use by Primary Care Provider Supply”. Medical Care. 2019; 57:202-207.
Guarnizo Herreno C, Lyu W, and Wehby GL. “Children’s Oral Health and Academic Performance: Evidence of a Persisting Relationship over the Last Decade in the United States”. Journal of Pediatrics. 2019. pii: S0022-3476(19)30135-0.
Guarnizo Herreno C, Coutermanche C, and Wehby G. “Effects of contextual economic factors on childhood obesity”. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2019; 23:1317–1326.
Wehby GL, Lyu W, and Shane D. “The Impact of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Dental Visits by Dental Coverage Generosity and Dentist Supply”. Medical Care. 2019; 57:781-787
Wehby GL, Dave D, and Kaestner R. “Effects of the Minimum Wage on Infant Health.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 2020; 39, 411-443.
Lyu W, Shane D, Wehby GL. “Effects of the Recent Medicaid Expansions on Dental Preventive Services and Treatments”. Medical Care. 2020; 58:749-755.
Lyu W, Wehby GL. “Community Use Of Face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US”. Health Affairs. 2020; 39:1419-1425.
Lyu W, Wehby GL. “Shelter-In-Place Orders Reduced COVID-19 Mortality And Reduced The Rate Of Growth In Hospitalizations”. Health Affairs. 2020: 39;1615-1623.
Semprini J, Lyu W, Shane D, Wehby GL. “The Effects of ACA Medicaid Expansions on Health after Five Years”. Medical Care Research and Review. 2022; 79:28-35.
Lyu W and Wehby GL. “Heterogeneous effects of ACA Medicaid Expansions among Women with Dependent Children by State-Level Pre-Expansion Eligibility”. Journal of Women’s Health. 2021; 30:1278-1287.
Guarnizo-Herreño C and Wehby GL. “Health of infants born to Venezuelan refugees in Colombia”. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2021; 23:222-231.
Qian H and Wehby GL. “The Effects of Refundable and Nonrefundable State Earned Income Tax Credit Programs on Health of Mothers of Two or More Children”. Women’s Health Issues. 2021;S1049-3867(21)00037-2.
Wehby GL, Kaestner R, Lyu W, Dave D. “Effects of the Minimum Wage on Child Health.” American Journal of Health Economics. Forthcoming
Bin Abdul Baten R, Wehby GL. “Effects of the 2014 Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions on Health Care Access and Health Status of Poor Adults Aged 60-64 Years: Evidence from the First Six Years”. The Gerontologist. 2022 Dec 23;gnab189. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnab189
Bin Abdul Baten R, Wehby GL. “Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Access and Health by Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice Laws. Nursing Outlook. 2022;70(2):228-237.
Lyu W, Wehby GL. “Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children’s Oral Health and Oral Health Care Use”. Journal of the American Dental Association. 2022; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2022.02.008. In Press.
Wehby GL. “Oral Health and Academic Achievement of Children in Low-Income Families”. Journal of Dental Research. 2022; doi: 10.1177/00220345221089602. In Press.
Wehby GL. “Gestational Age, Newborn Metabolic Markers, and Academic Achievement”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022, 19(3), 1549; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031549.
Wehby GL, Lyu W, Shane D. “Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Dental Services Use Declined After Medicaid Adult Dental Coverage Expansions”. Health Affairs.2022;4(1):44-52.
Wehby GL. “The Impact Of Household Health Insurance Coverage Gains On Children’s Achievement In Iowa: Evidence From The ACA”. Health Affairs. 2022;4(1):35-43.
Courses Taught
- Health Economics
- Health Services Research Methods
Research Interests
- Health economics
- Health services research
- Children
- Economic policies and health
- Health and education
- Genetics and social sciences
In the News
- Iowa researchers receive grant to study effects of Medicaid dental benefits expansion on overall health
- Dental Health Is Public Health
- Wehby’s article named a Health Affairs top ten of 2022
- Study links state eviction moratoriums and improved mental health
- Ali discusses pandemic eviction moratoriums and impact on mental health
- George Wehby to lead Department of Health Management and Policy
- Expanding public coverage of dental care reduces disparities
- Wehby discusses mask mandates, health services research
- Health insurance expansion linked to improved academic test scores of low-income children
- Iowa researchers’ paper honored as one of best of 2021
- Study finds pregnant Venezuelan refugees have worse birth outcomes than Colombian women
- CPH researchers’ study on mask mandates ranks among most shared of all time
- Masks and vaccines are effective at combating COVID-19 spread
- Wehby’s face mask study tops online engagement
- Lyu, Wehby papers make Top 20 most-read articles list
- Income support programs save lives and promote health
- Wehby comments on recent mask mandates
- Mapping where people wear masks
- Study shows shelter-in-place orders reduce COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations
- Study finds shelter-in-place orders reduced COVID-19 mortality, hospitalizations
- Study examines the effects of state mask mandates
- Researchers look at effectiveness of masks in reducing COVID-19 spread
- Study suggests face mask use in public helps mitigate COVID-19 spread
- Study suggests mandatory face mask use may have averted more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases
- Wehby Named Colloton Chair in Health Management and Policy
- Study compares COVID-19 rates, stay-at-home orders in Iowa and Illinois
- Wehby comments on Mendelian randomization
- Wehby to present 2019 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Oct. 23
- Researchers examine link between minimum wage, long-term health
- Wehby to study effects of minimum wage on long-term child health and development
- Higher pay, healthier babies
- Researchers look at effects of higher minimum wage on infant birthweight
- Restaurants, big-box stores drive obesity rates, says Wehby and colleagues
- Wehby and colleagues study how economic factors can affect weight gain
- CPH researchers investigate gestational age, metabolic markers, and academic achievement