WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-Monmouth, Middlesex) announced a $675,471 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) grant to Dr. Zhiqiang Tan of Rutgers University to support studies of a range of conditions and problems that impose high burdens on patients, caregivers and the health-care system.
Specifically, Tan will be working to improve statistical methods within health-care analytics. The Affordable Care Act established PCORI and emphasized comparative effectiveness research to capture the power of health data to improve the quality and efficiency of health treatment.
“As one of the leading research institutions in New Jersey and the world, it is encouraging to see Rutgers working across academic disciplines to improve our health-care system,” said Pallone. “While I am proud of the successes of the Affordable Care Act, there must be an ongoing commitment to improve access to quality affordable care, and Dr. Tan’s research will contribute to this effort.”
Pallone, a Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was one of the principal authors of the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that in 2015, the uninsured rate fell to 9.1 percent nationwide and 6.9 percent in New Jersey, down from 14.4 percent and 17.5 percent in 2013.