Robert Brake Helms received a First Prize Award with Grace-Marie Turner from the Pioneer Institute of Better Government Competition in 2012.
SILVER SPRING, MD, April 09, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Robert Brake Helms, Ph.D., with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Helms celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Helms began his career in 1971 as an assistant professor at Loyola College in Baltimore. While teaching economics, he was recommended to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and later asked to head up a new study at the institute that dealt with health policy. By 1974, he had begun serving as director of health policy studies, and in 1975, had his dissertation on natural gas regulation published as a small book through AEI. Still listed as a resident scholar at the institute since 1990, Dr. Helms is semi-retired and no longer takes an active part in health policy activities. Since 2008, he has also been involved as an expert witness in a series of Medicaid cases.
Between 1981 and 1989, Dr. Helms was employed with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), first as deputy assistant secretary of planning and evaluation/health, then as acting assistant secretary and assistant secretary. Confirmed as assistant secretary by the senate, it was one of the highlights for Dr. Helms and a very exciting and educational time in his career. From there, he became the executive director of the American Pharmaceutical Institute, a small think tank. Leaving the institute in 1991, Dr. Helms went into business for himself as an economics consultant before returning to the AEI to direct its health policy program. Remaining with the institute for another two decades, Dr. Helms was able to publish numerous studies analyzing various issues in health policy and increase the size of the staff in the health policy studies area. He also had the opportunity to serve on several government and private sector task forces, where he studied issues such as food stamp policies and Medicaid. During his tenure, he notably attempted to make the case for competitive health policies, not the regulatory approaches that the country ended up with in Obama Care.
During his career, Dr. Helms served as the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation for the HHS. Confirmed for the position in June 1985, he remained in this position until the end of the Reagan Administration in early 1989. He also worked in various other capacities, including as chair of the Secretary's Task Forces on hospital deregulation and prescription drug payment policies, as a member of the White House Working Group on Health Policy and Economics and as a member of the HHS Medicaid Commission. Most recently, he served as a national advisory council for the Agency for Healthcare, Research and Quality between 2005 and 2007.
Dr. Helms has authored many peer-reviewed articles and is the author of the 1974 book "Natural Gas Regulation." He has also written articles and given numerous talks on the history of the tax treatment of health insurance and Medicaid payment policy. He has edited several books, including "Drug Development and Marketing" in 1975, "Health Care Policy and Politics: Lessons from Four Countries" in 1993 and "Medicare in the Twenty-first Century: Seeking Fair and Efficient Reform" in 1999.
The recipient of a Pellegrino Medal from the Healthcare Ethics and Law Institute at Samford University in 2008, Dr. Helms soon after received a First Prize Award with Grace-Marie Turner from the Pioneer Institute of Better Government Competition in 2012. He has been cited in close to 50 editions of Who's Who, including Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, and Who's Who in the World.
Prior to entering college, Dr. Helms was involved with the Future Farmers of America, which ultimately led to his enrollment in the School of Agriculture at Auburn University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural administration in 1962, followed by a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1966 and 1973, respectively. Dr. Helms served in the U.S. Army to captain between 1962 and 1967.
Dr. Helms married his wife Sharon Schliebe in 1964. They first met in Mainz, Germany, while he was serving in the U.S. Army and she was working as a music teacher in the Armed Forces Schools. They now have two children and three grandchildren.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Robert Brake Helms, Ph.D., has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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