Charles J. Neighbors, MBA, PhD

I am a behavioral scientist who brings together clinical, statistical, and business expertise to understand and inform about healthcare reform and its impact on individuals struggling with addictions and mental health disorders.

My research focuses on examining quality and efficiency of the current treatment system for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), studying the impact of system reform efforts, and bringing evidence-based interventions to practice. Part of my research involves analyses of large administrative databases (e.g., Medicaid) to examine characteristics of the SUD treatment as well as the use of quasi-experimental methods to study the impact of system reform interventions. I have done most of this work in New York State, relying on a strong collaborative partnership with state regulatory agencies (notably, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and the Department of Health (DOH)).

I am also the director of the Health Evaluation and Analytics Lab (HEAL), a joint initiative of NYU Langone’s Department of Population Health and NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. HEAL’s mission is to conduct research and evaluations that assist in the administration of the New York Medicaid program and contribute to national scholarship on health and healthcare. We conduct and support applied research to help healthcare and community-based organizations deliver services that significantly improve health and well-being, particularly for vulnerable communities. Central to our lab is a large dataset called the New York State Medicaid claims file that we built to support research focused on the most disadvantaged New Yorkers. We use these data for much of our applied research, and we make the dataset available to researchers across our institution and at other universities and organizations both in and outside of New York State.