Kaskie Chosen as Public Policy & Aging Report’s New Editor

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has appointed Brian Kaskie, PhD, of the University of Iowa as the editor-in-chief of Public Policy & Aging Report.

“It is a great honor to be named editor of Public Policy & Aging Report. I plan to continue the well-established tradition of publishing research-based perspectives on current public policy issues,” Kaskie said. “I aspire to bring researchers closer to the policy-making process by having authors engage in Capitol Hill briefings, web broadcasts, and other forums attended by public officials. Conversely, I aspire for our audience of policy makers and program administrators to become empowered by their engagement with the evidence base, finding ways to advance policy alternatives that do the most to help the greatest number of older adults regardless of party affiliation.”

Public Policy & Aging Report — published quarterly by Oxford Journals on behalf of GSA’s policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society — explores policy topics generated by the aging of society. Each thematic issue is designed to stimulate debate, highlight emerging concerns, and propose alternative policy options. The audience consists of decision makers in the public and private sectors, advisors and staff to those decision makers, program administrators, researchers, students, and the interested public. Authors are drawn from the leadership ranks of the policy, practice, and research communities.

“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Brian Kaskie as the new editor-in-chief of Public Policy & Aging Report,” said GSA Publications Committee Chair Margie Lachman, PhD, FGSA. “He is a perfect match for this position given his well-established record of exceptional contributions to research and practice involving public policies relevant to older adults.”

Kaskie is an associate professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. His research involves analyzing Medicare and Medicaid policies, empirically testing models of state policy formation and implementation, and translating integrated approaches to providing geriatric care in a variety of health care settings. Most recently, Kaskie has examined the increasing use of cannabis among older persons, evaluating the implications for opioid abuse and end-of-life care.

He has a history of contributing directly to the formulation and implementation of public policies concerning older adults. He has worked with the Alzheimer’s Association National Public Policy office on developing state level strategies since 1993. From 2016 to 2017, was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, assigned to the majority staff of the Senate Special Committee on Aging by Senator Susan M. Collins. He served as the project manager for the state of California’s Strategic Planning Initiative for Older Adults from 1999 to 2001, providing legislators and agency executives critical guidance in formulating policy responses in the state with the nation’s largest population of older adults.

In Iowa, Kaskie has established a superlative record of contributing in the aging and health policy arena. He has been appointed to several committees and task forces such as the Governor’s Taskforce on Re-Balancing Long-Term Care and the Iowa Committee for Value in Healthcare. Kaskie also created the University of Iowa multidisciplinary graduate fellowship in aging, authored the Iowa Board of Regents Strategic Plan for Geriatric Care, and currently directs the two graduate degree programs in health policy offered at the University of Iowa.

Kaskie earned a master’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis, completed his doctoral training at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, and participated in a postdoctoral fellowship in health services research and policy at the University of California, San Francisco.

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Public Policy & Aging Report is a publication of the National Academy on an Aging Society, the policy institute of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA). As the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging, GSA’s principal mission — and that of its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes an educational unit, the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education.