Dear Colleagues,
With great sadness, I am writing to let you know that Dr. Stuart H. Altman, the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy, Emeritus, at the Heller School, passed away on January 1, 2026 in North Carolina, following a brief illness. He was 88.
A renowned health economist, Dr. Altman was an advisor in health policy to five U.S. presidential administrations, congressional leaders, governors and state officials. He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation/Health at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) from 1971 to 1976; as Chairman of the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPac) from 1984 to 1996; and as an appointed member of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare from 1997-1996. In 2012, Governor Deval Patrick appointed Dr. Altman the inaugural Chair of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. He was reappointed to this post by Governor Charles Baker, in 2016, and served until 2022.
At Brandeis, Dr. Altman served as Interim President, Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and Founder and Co-Director of the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy and Research. He was an inspiring and beloved teacher who, over five decades, provided transformative educational experiences to both undergraduate and graduate students. Even after his retirement this past spring, Dr. Altman continued to work on behalf of the school and university that he loved, hosting a successful health policy conference, lecturing in several courses, and participating in Zoom meetings. He brought to every interaction not only brilliance and rigor, but kindness and care, and was an exceptional colleague and mentor.
Dr. Altman's extraordinary contributions to the health policy field have been recognized by a myriad of organizations. He was named among the most influential people in health policy and in health care by Health Affairs and Modern Healthcare and received the 2014 Graham Lifetime Achievement Award in Health Services Research from the Association of Health Administration Programs. A member of the Institute of Medicine, Dr. Altman received the 2018 Gustav O. Lienhard Award, which honors individuals for exceptional contributions to improving U.S. health care services.
I know that this monumental loss will be deeply felt across our community. An event in his memory will be held at Brandeis. I will keep you posted about these arrangements. A formal obituary from Stuart's family is available here.
May Stuart’s memory always be for a blessing.
Sara Shostak
Academic Dean, School of Social Sciences and Social Policy