Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics

Aging and Cognition

Research Program

Aging and Cognition

While the healthcare profession has achieved remarkable progress in lengthening life expectancy, more must be done to ensure that those added years are healthier ones. Schaeffer Center experts are researching the fiscal and health consequences of an aging population, and how we can improve the lives of older adults through interdisciplinary research.

Program Leadership

Julie Zissimopoulos, PhD

Co-Director, Aging and Cognition Program, USC Schaeffer Center
Co-Director, CeASES ADRD and AD-RCMAR
Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Professor, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

Mireille Jacobson, PhD

Co-Director, Aging and Cognition Program, USC Schaeffer Center
Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Associate Professor, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Featured Research View All

Trends in Incident Dementia Diagnosis Before and After Medicare Risk Adjustment

The research assessed annual trends in incident ADRD diagnosis for all beneficiaries in MA and compared them with trends in traditional Medicare (TM) from 2016 through 2020.

Experts: Julie Zissimopoulos, Geoffrey Joyce, Mireille Jacobson

Estimates of Diagnosed Dementia Prevalence and Incidence Among Diverse Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage

Expanding the Use of Brief Cognitive Assessments to Detect Suspected Early-Stage Cognitive Impairment in Primary Care

Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Living with Dementia

Related NIH-Funded Centers

Our NIH-funded centers are advancing knowledge of the health, economic and social impacts of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Featured Article

Does Medicare Advantage Deliver Better Care for Persons Living With Dementia Than Traditional Medicare?

With data available from CMS on all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in private plans and traditional Medicare, researchers at the USC Schaeffer Center are driving new research on how payment structures impact the care of persons living with dementia.

Experts: Haley Garland, Johanna Thunell, Julie Zissimopoulos

Read: Does Medicare Advantage Deliver Better Care for Persons Living With Dementia Than Traditional Medicare?

In The News View All

Marketplace

Heun-Johnson quoted on how excess COVID-19 deaths affected Social Security finances

Featured Experts: Hanke Heun-Johnson

USC Today

Proposed Medicare coverage of at-home long-term care would have profound impact, Zissimopoulos says

Featured Experts: Julie Zissimopoulos

The New York Times

Chapel explaining the widening gap in health and economic wellbeing between the lower and upper middle class nearing retirement age

Featured Experts: Jack M. Chapel

MedPage Today

Without Early Detection, Fighting Dementia Is an Uphill Battle

Featured Experts: Julie Zissimopoulos

STAT

Palliative Care Works, So Why Is It Rarely Used? Follow the Money

Featured Experts: Mireille Jacobson

Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics

Aging and Cognition