The Program at the University of Michigan took advantage of the University's eminent faculty and unique research centers. The University's outstanding Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Public Policy had a long tradition of interdisciplinary research and training in the social, economic, and political aspects of health. In addition, the Institute for Social Research provided major research opportunities for the Scholars through national, longitudinal surveys such as the Health and Retirement Study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and the American Changing Lives' Study.

The primary university units participating in this Program were: the Department of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health; the Economics, Political Science, and Sociology Departments in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; the Institute for Social Research; and the School of Medicine.

The Program Steering Committee provided overall guidance to the Program, with responsibilities that included the design of the immersion seminars, inviting speakers for the regular seminar series, and Scholar mentoring. The Program Faculty Committee was composed of seven members who were responsible for selecting and recruiting new cohorts, as well as providing guidance on the overall program. Additional support came from faculty who taught in the immersion seminar.

The Program featured an intensive seven-week seminar about the U.S. health care system, health law, public health policy, and an introduction to cutting-edge research in economics, political science, and sociology regarding health and health care. The Program also offered a topical, multidisciplinary seminar in which faculty from across the University and visiting faculty presented their research. This seminar was designed to provide broad exposure to health policy research and to show how different disciplines approach the same topic. In addition to the seminars designed specifically for the Program, Scholars regularly attended the seminar series for their home discipline department and other seminars and lectures throughout the University.

As an integral part of the Program, each Scholar developed and pursued an individualized program of health policy research. Scholars developed research projects in consultation with members of the Steering Committee and other mentors. These projects enabled Scholars to expand their horizons and to take risks. To facilitate the successful completion of his or her research agenda, each Scholar was given support in the form of a private office, research budget, graduate student research assistants, computing resources, secretarial assistance, and access to the extensive libraries and informational resources at the University of Michigan.

Catherine McLaughlin, Ph.D., served as program director from 1993 to 2003. She was succeeded by Paula Lantz, Ph.D., and Michael Chernew, Ph.D., who co-directed the Program from 2003 to 2005. Paula Lantz then served as program director until 2011, when she was succeeded by Edward Norton, Ph.D., who directed the Program from 2011 to 2016.