3-4-17 richard sandomir dorothy rice, pioneering economist who made case for medicare, dies at 94

By Richard Sandomir March 4, 2017 Dorothy Rice, a pioneering government economist and statistician whose research about the need of the aged for health insurance helped make the case for the passage of Medicare in 1965, died on Feb. 25 in Oakland, Calif. She was 94.

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Government Service Leads to Seminal Contributions in Health Economics, Health Statistics

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1941, Rice began working as a government economist in Washington, DC. In the 1960s and 1970s, she began to specialize in health services, contributing to the Social Security Administration, Public Health Service, and Office of Research and Statistics, among others.

UCSF Career Expands Contributions to Understanding the Costs of Illness

After leaving government in 1982, Rice embarked on a second career as an academic researcher at UCSF. Her work on the Cost of Injury in the United States (1989) provided further insights into the impact of behavior on costs.

The Dorothy Pechman Rice Center for Health Economics and Beyond

In 1998, to honor Rice’s contributions to public health, UCSF established the Dorothy Pechman Rice Center for Health Economics, within the Institute for Health & Aging.

Pioneering Leadership, Generous Mentorship

A born leader, Rice assumed leadership roles in nearly every aspect of her life. She chaired and served on numerous commissions; local, state, national and international boards; policy committees; and study groups.

Early life

Rice was born Dorothy Pechman in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on June 11, 1922. Her father, Gershon, was a textile laborer, and her mother, the former Lena Schiff, was a homemaker. Both were immigrants from Poland. Raised in Brooklyn, she attended Brooklyn College for a year and a half.

Career

After graduating, Rice did not attend graduate school. Instead, she was determined to work for the federal government in Washington, D.C. Rice obtained employment at the Railroad Retirement Board and quickly moved up to the Department of Labor, as an assistant statistical clerk, and the War Production Board.

Awards

Rice was elected to the Institute of Medicine. She became a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1977. She received the Association for Health Services Presidential Award for Leadership and Contribution to Health Services Research. She also received the American Public Health Association Sedgwick Memorial Medal.

UCSF Career Expands Contributions to Understanding The Costs of Illness

See more on nursing.ucsf.edu

The Dorothy Pechman Rice Center For Health Economics and Beyond

Pioneering Leadership, Generous Mentorship