Joel Cantor, Sc.D.

Joel Cantor


Distinguished Professor of Public Policy
Director, Center for State Health Policy 
B.A., University of Wisconsin; Sc.D., Johns Hopkins University
Contact
  • Center for State Health Policy
    112 Paterson St, 5th floor
    New Brunswick, NJ 08901
  • (848) 932-4653
  • jcantor [at] ifh.rutgers.edu
  • LinkedIn
Research Interests
  • Health care financing and delivery
  • Health care policy
  • Access to health services by low-income populations


Joel C. Cantor  is a Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and the founding Director of the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Established 1999, the Center is a leader in health policy research and development nationally, with a special focus on informing policy in New Jersey. Dr. Cantor is published widely in the health services and policy literature on innovations in health service delivery and the regulation of private health insurance markets. He serves frequently as an advisor on health policy matters to New Jersey state government, and was the 2006 recipient of the Rutgers University President’s Award for Research in Service to New Jersey. Dr. Cantor also serves as a member of the executive committee of the Rutgers Institute for Health and co-leads the Community Health and Health Systems emerging signature area for Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Prior to joining Rutgers in 1999, Dr. Cantor served as director of research at the United Hospital Fund of New York and director of evaluation research at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He received his doctorate in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health in 1988, and was elected a Fellow of AcademyHealth in 1996.

Complete Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)

View all course offerings and related syllabi
Graduate Courses
  • Health Care Policy

Recent Publications

Chapters in Books or Monographs

  • 2014: Thompson FJ and Cantor JC, “Health Care Policy and Federalism.” In Health Policy and Politics, 5th Edition, Morone JA and Ehlke DC (eds.). Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning. 2014.

Articles in Refereed Journals

  • 2023: Saurabh Kalra, Deepak Kalra, Irina Grafova, Julia Sass Rubin, Alan Monheit, Joel Cantor, Paul Duberstein, Soumitra S. Bhuyan, 2023. “Association of death or illness from COVID-19 among family and friends on vaccine uptake within four months of the Emergency Use Authorization. Findings from a national survey in the United States, Vaccine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.024.
  • 2020: Lloyd K, Chakravarty S, Brownlee S, Farnham J and Cantor JC. “Hospital Responses to DSRIP Program Reforms in New Jersey.” The American Journal of Accountable Care, 8(2): 4-12, 2020.
  • 2020: Yang A, Goldin D, Nova J, Malhotra J, Cantor JC and Tsui J. “Racial Disparities in Health Care Utilization at the End of Life among New Jersey Medicaid Beneficiaries with Advanced Cancer.” JCO Oncology Practice, 16(6): e538-e548, 2020.
  • 2020: Cantor JC, Chakravarty S, Nova J, Kelly T, DeLia D, Tiderington E and Brown RW. “Medicaid Utilization and Spending among Homeless Adults in New Jersey: Implications for Medicaid-Funded Tenancy Support Services.” The Milbank Quarterly, 98(1): 106-130, 2020.
  • 2020: Thompson FJ, Cantor JC and Houston R. “Control Versus Administrative Discretion in Negotiating Voluntary P4P Networks: The Case of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations.” Administration & Society, 52(1): 81-110, 2020.
  • 2017: Cantor JC and Koller M. “Payment Reform Comes to New Jersey.” MDAdvisor, 9(4): 19-22, 2016.
  • 2017: DeLia D, Lloyd K, Feldman CA and Cantor JC. “Patterns of Emergency Department Use for Dental and Oral Health Care: Implications for Dental and Medical Care Coordination.” Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 76(1): 1-8, 2016.
  • 2017: Chakravarty S and Cantor JC. “Informing the Design and Evaluation of Superuser Care Management Initiatives: Accounting for Regression-to-the-Mean.” Medical Care, 54(9): 860-867, 2016.
  • 2017: Thompson FJ, Cantor JC and Farnham J. “Medicaid Long-Term Care: State Variation and the Intergovernmental Lobby.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 41(4): 763-780, 2016.
  • 2017: Cantor JC and Monheit AC. “Reform of the Individual Insurance Market in New Jersey: Lessons for the Affordable Care Act.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 41(4): 781-801, 2016.
  • 2016: Hempstead K and Cantor JC. “State Medicaid Expansion Status and Changes in Hospital Volume According to Payer.” New England Journal of Medicine, 374(2): 196-198, 2016.
  • 2016: DeLia D, Wang HE, Kutzin J, Merlin M, Nova J, Lloyd K and Cantor JC. “Prehospital Transportation to Therapeutic Hypothermia Centers and Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.” BMC Health Services Research, 15(1): 533, 2015.
  • 2015: Chakravarty S, Gaboda D, DeLia D, Cantor JC and Nova J. “Impact of Medicare Part D on Coverage, Access, and Disparities among
    New Jersey Seniors.” Medical Care Research and Review, 72(2): 127-148, 2015.
  • 2015: Cantor JC, Chakravarty S, Tong J, Yedidia MJ, Lontok O and DeLia D. “The New Jersey Medicaid ACO Demonstration Project: Seeking
    Opportunities for Better Care and Lower Costs among Complex Low-Income Patients.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 39(6): 1185-
    1211, 2014.

Reports/Other Publications

  • 2020: Chou J, Cantor JC and Goldin D. Housing Instability and Health-Related Housing Quality in New Jersey. Facts & Findings: New Jersey Health & Well-Being Poll. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2020.
  • 2020: Cantor JC. Medicaid and the Future of Health Care Hot-Spotting. Issue Brief. New York, NY: Milbank Memorial Fund, 2020.2020: Agrawal M, Lloyd K, Cantor JC, Farnham J and Koller M. Trends in Medicaid-Reimbursed Outpatient Opioid Prescriptions following New Jersey P.L. 2017, c.28. Data Brief. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2019.
  • 2020: Agrawal M, Lloyd K, Cantor JC, Farnham J and Koller M. Trends in Medicaid-Reimbursed Outpatient Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, and Naloxone Prescriptions following New Jersey P.L. 2017, c.28. Data Brief. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2019.
  • 2020: Thompson FJ, Cantor JC, Farnham J, Gusmano MK and Tiderington E. Medicaid Demonstration Waivers with Housing Supports: An Interim Assessment. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2019.
  • 2019: Tsui J, DeLia D, Stroup AM, Nova J, Kulkarni A, Ferrante JM and Cantor JC. “Association of Medicaid Enrollee Characteristics and Primary Care Utilization with Cancer Outcomes for the Period Spanning Medicaid Expansion in New Jersey.” Cancer, 125(8): 1330-1340, 2019.
  • 2019: Tsui J, DeLia D, Nova J, Rotter D, Kulkarni A, Demissie K, Stroup AM, and Cantor JC. “Primary Care Utilization, Late-Stage Diagnosis, and Timeliness of Treatment among Medicaid Cancer Patients: Early Signals following the ACA Expansion.” Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 27(7 Suppl): PR07, 2018.
  • 2018: Cantor JC, Brownlee S and Chou J. Who Receives Surprise Medical Bills in New Jersey? Facts & Findings: New Jersey Health & Well-Being Poll. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2018.
  • 2018: Cantor JC, Brownlee S and Chou J. In the Shadow of ACA “Repeal and Replace”: Public Views on How New Jersey Policymakers Should Respond. Facts & Findings: New Jersey Health & Well-Being Poll. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2018.
  • 2018: Koller M, Pichardo M and Cantor JC; on behalf of the NJ State Innovation Model (SIM) Project Team. New Jersey State Health Innovation Plan. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2017.
  • 2018: Mouzon D, Brownlee S, Chou J and Cantor JC. Stress in New Jersey. 2016 Poll Brief, No. 2: New Jersey Health & Well-Being Poll. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2017.
  • 2017: Cantor JC, Brownlee S and Chou J. Wide Differences in Perceptions of Well-Being in New Jersey Communities. 2016 Poll Brief, No. 1: New Jersey Health & Well-Being Poll. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2017.
  • 2017: Gibbs L, Hawn Nelson A, Dalton E, Cantor JC, Shipp S and Jenkins D. IDS Governance: Setting Up for Ethical and Effective Use. Philadelphia, PA: Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy, 2017.
  • 2017: Michael M, Koller M, Cantor JC and Kumar N. The Affordable Care Act’s Impact on Enrollment in the NJ Individual Health Coverage Market: Reflections and Comments from Assisters and Brokers. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2016.
  • 2017: Frishman R, Chou J, Koller M and Cantor JC. Improving Care for Complex Patients: Stories from Four Super-Utilizer Pilot Programs. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2016.2016: Thompson FJ and Cantor JC. The New Jersey Medicaid Accountable Care Organization Demonstration: Lessons from the Implementation Process. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2016.
  • 2016: Cantor JC, Tallia AF, Koller M, DeLia D and Farnham J; for the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Working Group on Medicaid High Utilizers. Analysis and Recommendations for Medicaid High Utilizers in New Jersey. Newark, NJ: Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, 2016.
  • 2016: Cantor JC, Hudson S and Brownlee S. RBHS Community Health and Health Systems Emerging Signature Area: 2015 Faculty Web Survey. Newark, NJ: Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, 2016.
  • 2016: Yedidia MJ, Lontok O, Vaz S and Cantor JC. Addressing Challenges in Serving High-Needs Patients: Preliminary Findings from Interviews with Clinical and Administrative Staff of Six Pilot Programs. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, 2015.

Areas of Expertise: Health Policy