Ryan Larochelle ’13 will present his research on American health care economics — focusing on the link between health insurance and employment — at 8:30 p.m. April 10, 2013, in Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center. The 45-minute talk, “Employment-Based Health Insurance: Contemplating the Viability of an Accidental and Outdated System,” will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

In his presentation Larochelle will explore how health insurance came to be tied to employment, how that relationship has evolved over the years, and whether the linkage still makes sense. He has recently submitted a 50-page paper on this topic as part of a year-long Advanced Independent Study in Economics under the supervision of Assistant Professor Erik Nelson.

Larochelle is eager to share his findings with the Bowdoin community before he graduates this spring. “This is an absolutely critical issue with serious applications for our everyday lives, yet no one seems to be talking about it,” he said. He describes the employment-insurance relationship as “one of the strangest and most fundamental aspects of American health care.”

A pre-med student from Bangor, Maine, Larochelle is interested in pursuing a career that combines medicine and policy. After finishing up his double major in Biochemistry and French at Bowdoin, he will enroll in medical school next fall, with plans to complete an MD/MBA dual degree.

Larochelle’s talk and paper will both be posted to Bowdoin’s Pre-Health Advising website as a resource for pre-health students.