Bio

Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D. is the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, Director of Domestic Policy Studies in the Public Policy Program, and an Affiliate of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He is also a presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed member of the independent and bipartisan Social Security Advisory Board.

Chen is a veteran of several high-profile U.S. political campaigns and served as policy director for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 bid for the presidency. In that role, he was Romney’s chief policy adviser; a senior strategist on the campaign; and the person responsible for developing the campaign’s domestic and foreign policy. Previously, Chen served as a senior appointee at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the George W. Bush Administration, in private law practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and has advised numerous other presidential, gubernatorial, and congressional campaigns.

Chen earned his Ph.D. and A.M. in political science from Harvard University, his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, and his A.B. magna cum laude in government from Harvard College.

Academic Appointments

  • David & Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Hoover Inst., HOOVER RESEARCH

Administrative Appointments

  • Director of Domestic Policy Studies, Public Policy Program (2015 - Present)
  • Member, Faculty Steering Committee, Haas Center for Public Service (2015 - Present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Member, State Bar of California (2008 - Present)
  • Member, Board of Directors, El Camino Hospital (2015 - Present)
  • Member, Social Security Advisory Board (2015 - Present)

Program Affiliations

  • Public Policy

2026-27 Courses

All Publications

  • Refocusing Medicare Reform on Its Cost to Taxpayers. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J., Church, T. 2026; 7 (8): e263867

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.3867

    View details for PubMedID 42623106

  • Enhancing Prescription Drug Affordability Through Competition. JAMA health forum Miller, B., Chen, L. J. 2026; 7 (5): e262223

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.2223

    View details for PubMedID 42166173

  • Failing to Account for Real-World Complexities in Health Policy. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J., Duffy, E., Grover, A. 2026; 7 (2): e260267

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2026.0267

    View details for PubMedID 41642582

  • Alternatives to Government-Imposed Price Controls to Lower US Drug Prices. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2025; 6 (10): e255744

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.5744

    View details for PubMedID 41129168

  • The Problem With California's Plan to Contain Health Care Costs. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2025; 6 (7): e253383

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.3383

    View details for PubMedID 40638131

  • Health Policy Challenges for 2025 and Beyond. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2025; 6 (1): e250184

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.0184

    View details for PubMedID 39883473

  • What Would a Trump Administration 2.0 Mean for Health Care Policy? JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2024; 5 (10): e244057

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.4057

    View details for PubMedID 39388142

  • The Unintended and Anticompetitive Consequences of Laws to Control Health Care Costs. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2024; 5 (6): e242470

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.2470

    View details for PubMedID 38935366

  • Early Lessons From State-Based Public Option Plans. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2024; 5 (3): e240973

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0973

    View details for PubMedID 38546624

  • Individual Health Accounts Can Bring Health Savings to More People in the US. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2023; 4 (8): e233468

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.3468

    View details for PubMedID 37615963

  • When Expansion Is Not Enough-State Innovation to Build Choice and Consumer Control in Medicaid. JAMA health forum Chen, L. J. 2023; 4 (5): e231802

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1802

    View details for PubMedID 37166809

  • Getting Ready For Health Reform 2020: Republicans' Options For Improving Upon The State Innovation Approach HEALTH AFFAIRS Chen, L. J. 2018; 37 (12): 2076–83

    View details for DOI 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05119

    View details for Web of Science ID 000463969300024

  • Getting Ready For Health Reform 2020: Republicans' Options For Improving Upon The State Innovation Approach. Health affairs (Project Hope) Chen, L. J. 2018: 101377hlthaff201805119

    Abstract

    The 2020 presidential election will be consequential for the future of health reform, with the two major-party nominees taking very different views on the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as well as the policies needed to lower health costs and continue to expand access to coverage. The Republican nominee will likely signal broad opposition to the ACA and a desire to replace it with a state innovation-based approach to reform, based on the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson legislation considered by the Senate in the fall of 2017. This article takes that legislation as a starting point, contextualizes it within the broader health reform discussion, and suggests ways to improve upon it to enhance the affordability of and access to coverage and to ensure that states have adequate flexibility to implement their policy goals.

    View details for PubMedID 30444425