Health Affairs This Week

Health Affairs' Chris Fleming and Rob Lott interview Sabrina Corlette from Georgetown University on the health of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and the final rule for the HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2024, which has many initiatives related to health equity.Join us April 24 for a special Insider-only Virtual Networking event!Related Links:Final 2024 Payment Rule, Part 1: Insurance Market Rules And Consumer Assistance (Health Affairs Forefront)Final 2024 Payment Rule, Part 2: Risk Adjustment (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Jessica Bylander discuss the large amount of news and controversy over the abortion pill mifepristone as the drug's 2000 approval -- and subsequent changes to how patients can access it -- make their way through the courts. NOTE: This episode was recorded in the afternoon of April 13, 2023, shortly before the Justice Department requested the Supreme Court to restore access to the mifepristone. Related Links:FDA's Liberalization of Mifepristone Dispensing: Securing The Future Of Access To Medical Abortion (Health Affairs Forefront)Drugmakers sign letter supporting FDA and calling for reversal of Texas judge's mifepristone ruling (CNN)Abortion Medication Mifepristone Will Remain Legal for Now, but With More Restrictions (Vanity Fair)United States Department of Justice Statement - April 13, 2023Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Ellen Bayer and Kathleen Haddad interview Melanie Bella, head of partnerships & policy at Cityblock Health and current chair of Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) on Medicaid expansion, dual eligibles and more.Read the Health Affairs Forefront series Medicare and Medicaid Integration. Related Links:Governor Cooper Signs Medicaid Expansion Into LawIntegrating Medicare And Medicaid For Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries Through Managed Care: Proposed 2023 Medicare Advantage Regulations (Health Affairs Forefront)When The Public Health Emergency Ends: What Will It Mean For Dually Eligible Individuals? (Health Affairs Forefront)Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans: A Primer (Justice In Aging)Preserving Integration For Dual Eligible Individuals After The End Of The Medicare-Medicaid Plan Model (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Marianne Amoss discuss the recent antitrust lawsuit against Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics regarding pharmacy benefit managers and alleged collusion to share drug pricing information.Join us for a Lunch and Learn Event on Health Care Workforces on April 4. This event is supported by the de Beaumont Foundation.Related Links:Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Their Role in Drug Spending (The Commonwealth Fund)The Association Between Drug Rebates and List Prices (University of Southern California)Ohio Attorney General David Yost Files Suit Against Express Scripts, Prime Therapeutics Over Rising Drug Costs (FierceHealthcare)Podcast: Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the FTC & You (Health Affairs This Week)Health Policy Brief: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (Health Affairs)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Chris Fleming dive into the complex world of insulin pricing and recent efforts to control its costs for the millions of Americans with diabetes. Read the Ahead of Print article on Medicare Advantage benchmarks by Michael Chernew and colleagues.Related Links:Sanofi announces insulin price cap after actions by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk (NBC News)Why is insulin so expensive and difficult to cap? (AP News)California Picks Generic Drug Company Civica to Produce Low-Cost Insulin (Kaiser Health News)Insulin as Preventive Care: Why Not Eliminate Patient Cost Sharing? (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Michael Gerber read the health care policy tea leaves for the President's Budget for 2024, including Medicare funding, Medicaid expansion, prescription drug costs, public health preparedness, and more.Related Links:FACT SHEET: The President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 (White House)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Health Affairs' Vabren Watts and Ryann Tanap discuss a new peer-reviewed article published in Learned Publishing where Health Affairs shares our journey to advance racial equity in scholarly publishing of health policy and health services research.They also discuss a recently-published Health Affairs Forefront article about our progress since 2020 — what we have achieved and what we have learned.Our hope is that by sharing our story, we might help your organization join us in this journey.Health Affairs’ equity work was supported by the Colorado Health Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.Related Links:A seat for all: Advancing racial equity in scholarly publishing of health policy and health services research (Learned Publishing)Health Affairs Details Journey Of Advancing Equity In Scholarly Publishing (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Marianne Amoss and Chris Fleming discuss recent data on mortality in prisons and health care in carceral settings, especially in connection with COVID-19.Join us February 28 for a Virtual Happy Hour!Related Links:Developing Nation Social Care Standards (Health Affairs Forefront)UCLA Law Releases New Database to Monitor Deaths in US Prisons with Funding from Arnold VenturesRacial and Ethnic Inequalities in COVID-19 Mortality Within Carceral Settings: An Analysis of Texas Prisons (Health Affairs)Prison Hospital Data Is Omitted From Federal Data Sets (Health Affairs Forefront)Podcast: Rachael Bedard Explains Health Care in Jails (A Health Podyssey)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Leslie Erdelack unpack the health care highlights from President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, including the opioid epidemic, drug prices, noncompete agreements, and social media and kids' mental health. Join us February 28 for a Virtual Happy Hour!Related Links:Competition and Vulnerabilities In The Global Supply Chain For US Generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (Health Affairs)FACT SHEET: In State of the Union, President Biden to Outline Vision to Advance Progress on Unity Agenda in Year Ahead (White House)The Administration's Next Crack at Lower Drug Prices (Axios)Biden's Push to Ban Noncompete Agreements Could Have Big Implications for Health Care (NBC News)Biden's Fentanyl Position Sparks Criticism From 2 Sides (Associated Press)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Health Affairs' Laura Tollen, Chris Fleming and Michael Gerber discuss the new report from the Health Affairs' Council on Health Care Spending and Value. The council spent four years looking into how the US could take a more deliberate approach to moderating health care spending growth while maximizing value.Learn more about Health Affairs Scholar.Related Links:Council On Health Care Spending and Value ReportHealth Care Spending Council Event (C-SPAN)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Kathleen Haddad explain the complexities of the CMS final rule on Medicare Advantage risk adjustment.Read the CHS report's executive summary (available after 1pm ET on 2/3/23)Related Links:CMS Issues Final Rule to Protect Medicare, Strengthen Medicare Advantage, and Hold Insurers Accountable (CMS)New Medicare Rule Aims to Take Back $4.7 Billion From Insurers (The New York Times)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Jessica Bylander discuss the latest efforts to fix problems with directories of health care providers and the potential for a national provider directory.Join Us for the Considering Health Spending event on February 3.Related Links:Request for Information; National Directory of Healthcare Providers & ServicesCMS Proposed Rule on Medicare Parts C and D for 2024Provider Directories Are A Mess. CMS' Plan to Fix Them Has Few Fans (Modern Healthcare)Phantom Networks: Discrepancies Between Reported And Realized Mental Health Care Access In Oregon Medicaid (Health Affairs)Incorrect Provider Directories Associated With Out-Of-Network Mental Health Care And Outpatient Surprise Bills (Health Affairs)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Ellen Bayer and Marianne Amoss discuss some of the latest headlines in health care, including child immunization rates, suicide care for veterans, and public health concerns surrounding gas stoves.Health Affairs in 2022: Editor's PicksMost Read Health Affairs Forefront Articles of 2022Top Health Affairs Podcast Episodes of 2022Best-Read 2022 Journal ArticlesRelated Links:Vaccination Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten - United States, 2021-22 School Year (CDC)KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor - December 2022Gas Stove Emissions Are a Public Health Concern (APHA)Department of Veterans Affairs Press Release - January 13, 2023Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Health Affairs Ryann Tanap and Vabren Watts in the first of many "Health Equity Corner" episodes on This Week discuss the latest from the health equity department and unpack what Leqembi, the newly approved Alzheimer's disease drug, could mean in the health equity space.Related Links:FDA Grants Accelerated Approval for Alzheimer's Disease Treatment (FDA)CMS Statement on FDA Accelerated Approval of LecanemabA New Alzheimer's Drug Will Cost $26,500 A Year. Who Will Be Able To Get It? (NBC News)Health Affairs Racism and Health Theme IssueHealth Affairs FellowshipsCurrently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

We're back! New year, more podcasts. In the first episode of 2023, Kathleen Haddad and Chris Fleming discuss, the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, the coming end of Medicaid eligibility for millions, a new COVID variant, and more. With no shortage of news in the health care space, we're excited for a new year of Health Affairs This Week. Related Links:Home-Based Care Reimagined: A Full Fledged Health Care Delivery Ecosystem Without Walls (Health Affairs)Medicaid Unwinding Will Begin in April but There's Good News in Congressional Funding Agreement (Georgetown University Health Policy Institute)10 Things to Know About the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Requirement (KFF)Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 Explanatory StatementHealth Affairs PathwaysCurrently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

On the 100th episode of Health Affairs This Week, Ellen Bayer and Kathleen Haddad go over major policy developments in health care this year, including COVID-19, abortion, gun violence, drug prices, and more.Related Links:What Are The Prescription Drug Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act? (Kaiser Family Foundation)House Passes The Equality Act: Here's What It Would Do (NPR)Five Things To Know About the Renewal of Extra Affordable Care Act Subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (Kaiser Family Foundation)FDA Provides Update on External Evaluation to Strengthen Agency's Human Foods ProgramThe Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: What Does the Law Do and How Might It be Impacted by Bruen? (Duke Center for Firearms Law)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Listen to Leslie Erdelack and Jessica Bylander discuss the FDA's look into the potential for over-the-counter naloxone products to help reduce opioid overdose deaths.Related Links:FDA Fast-tracks Review of Over-the-Counter Opioid Drug (Axios)FDA Announces Preliminary Assessment that Certain Naloxone Products Have the Potential to be Safe and Effective for Over-the-Counter Use (FDA)Plan N: The Case For Over-The-Counter Naloxone (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is investigating hospitals' software algorithms to help identify potential racial biases in the systems. Listen to Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Rob Lott discuss the background and research behind racial biases in health care algorithms.View the Anniversary Timeline celebrating 40+ years of advancing health policy.Related Links:Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations (Science)Hidden In Plain Sight - Reconsidering The Use of Race Correction in Clinical Algorithms (NEJM)Podcast: Michael Sun on Racial Biases Hiding in EHRs (A Health Podyssey)The Potential For Bias in Machine Learning and Opportunities for Health Insurers to Address It (Health Affairs)Algorithmic Bias in Health Care: A Path Forward (Health Affairs Forefront)Leveraging Affordable Care Act Section 1557 to Address Racism in Clinical Algorithms (Health Affairs Forefront)

Health Affairs' Ellen Bayer and Kathleen Haddad break down the under-discussed state ballot initiatives that focused on health care in the 2022 mid-term elections.Related Links:What The 2022 Midterm Results Might Mean for Health Care (Health Affairs Forefront)What Recent State Elections Mean for Health Care (Health Affairs Forefront)A Proposed Policy Agenda for Electronic Cigarettes in the US: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion (Health Affairs)The FDA Stands By as the Vaping Industry Flout Its Orders (Stat News)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs Kathleen Haddad and Vabren Watts discuss open enrollment season and Medicare provisions in the CMS Final Rule.Related Links:Previewing The 2023 Open Enrollment Period (Health Affairs Forefront)HHS Finalizes Physician Payment Rule Strengthening Access to Behavioral Health Services and Whole-Person Care (CMS)Shopping for ACA Health Insurance? Here's What's New This Year (Kaiser Health News)An Overhaul for Medicare's Pay Transformation Program (Axios)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Jessica Bylander discuss the FDA's efforts to pull the pregnancy drug Makena from the market and the implications for drug policy.Join us in D.C. for an in-person happy hour event on November 17Related Links:FDA Panel Recommends Pulling Preterm Birth Drug From the Market (New York Times)Accelerated Approval of Cancer Drugs: No Economic Reward For Drug Makers That Conduct Confirmatory Trials (Health Affairs)Delays in Confirmatory Trials for Drug Applications Granted FDA's Accelerated Approval Raise Concerns (Office of Inspector General)Podcast: Prescription Drug Policy, Drug Pricing & Aduhelm With Rachel Sachs (Health Affairs This Week)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | OvercastJoin us in D.C. for an in-person happy hour event on November 17

Health Affairs This Week is on a break this week. Today, we are publishing an episode from A Health Podyssey, where Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry. Health Affairs This Week will return next week.Subscribe to A Health Podyssey: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google PodcastsHealth Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Northwestern University's Tara Lagu on the paper she published in the October 2022 issue of Health Affairs examining physicians attitudes toward patients with disabilities.Order the October 2022 issue of Health Affairs on disability and health.Health Affairs thanks the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their financial support of this issue.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

Health Affairs' Ryann Tanap and Vabren Watts interview Tony Brunswick, executive director of Art Enables, about his organization and its work and impact on artists with disabilities.Health Affairs thanks the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their financial support of this issue.Related Links:Disability and Health Theme IssueCreating Income Opportunities for Artists with Disabilities (Health Affairs Forefront)Health Affairs Sunday Update Sign-UpArt Studio Helps Adults With Disabilities Turn Their Passion Into a Career (NPR)Disability & Health in 10 Exhibits: Themes from Health Affairs' October 2022 Issue (Health Affairs Forefront)Order the October 2022 issue of Health Affairs on disability and health.Sign up for Health Affairs Sunday Update.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Ellen Bayer give a peek behind the curtain on Health Affairs' new Disability and Health theme issue.Health Affairs thanks the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their financial support of this issue.Related Links:Disability and Health Theme IssueTara Lagu on Physicians’ Attitudes on People With Disabilities (A Health Podyssey)Patient And Coworker Mistreatment Of Physicians With Disabilities (Health Affairs)Upcoming Health Affairs EventsOrder the October 2022 issue of Health Affairs on disability and health.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs' Kathleen Haddad and Chris Fleming conduct a whistle-stop tour of the current health policy litigations flowing through the courts.Related Links:Providers Sue (Again) Over No Surprises (Health Affairs Forefront)Lawsuit Challenges Federal Copay Accumulator Policy (Health Affairs Forefront)Court Holds That Key ACA Preventive Services Requirements Are Unconstitutional (Health Affairs Forefront)Will The US Supreme Court Strike Down The ACA's Preventive Services Coverage Requirement? (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Marianne Amoss and Rob Lott talk about Health Affairs' Forefront series on Medicare and Medicaid Integration and some of their favorite articles about the dual eligible population.The series is produced with the support of Arnold Ventures. Included articles are reviewed and edited by Health Affairs Forefront staff; the opinions expressed are those of the authors. The series will run through October 31, 2022; submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.Related Links:Medicare and Medicaid Integration Landing PageTo Advance Health Equity For Dual-Eligibles Beneficiaries, We Need Culturally Appropriate Services (Health Affairs Forefront)Congress Considers Strategies To Improve Medicare and Medicaid Integration For Dual-Eligible Individuals (Health Affairs Forefront)Integrating Care In Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans: A Bigger Toolbox For States (Health Affairs Forefront)Podcast: Eric Roberts on Dual Eligibles Coverage (A Health Podyssey)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Vabren Watts discuss a new partnership between Walmart and UnitedHealth Group - which will include efforts across retail health centers, Medicare Advantage plans, and social determinants of health - as well as other health care moves from big retailers like Amazon and CVS. Related Links:Press Release: Walmart and UnitedHealth Group Collaborate To Deliver Access to High-Quality, Affordable Health CareCVS Makes $8 Billion Bet on the Return of the House Call (New York Times)Gains Made By Walmart's Healthier Food Initiative Mirror Preexisting Trends (Health Affairs)Walmart, UnitedHealth to Offer Preventive Healthcare Program for Seniors (Reuters)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Ellen Bayer and Rob Lott review the state of the health care workforce in this Labor Day themed episode of Health Affairs This Week.Related Links:Primary Care Beyond COVID-19 (Health Affairs Forefront)New Behavioral Health Workforce Database Paints A Stark Picture (Health Affairs Forefront)Addressing Health Worker Burnout (U.S. Surgeon General)Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hospital and Outpatient Clinician Workforce (HHS)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Chris Fleming discuss the Moderna lawsuit against Pfizer regarding its mRNA technology in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine and its potential impact on the future of biopharmaceutical markets.Related Links:Covid Vaccine ‘Windfall Profits’ Under Attack by Patent Holders (Bloomberg Law)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Kathleen Haddad and Jessica Bylander discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's steps to revamp the agency, citing mistakes the agency made during the COVID-19 pandemic.Related Links:Walensky, Citing Botched Pandemic Response, Calls for CDC Reorganization (New York Times)A Vision For Supporting and Reforming The CDC (Health Affairs Forefront)Fix The CDC But Don't Ignore The Rest of Our Public Health System (Health Affairs Forefront)Statement by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. (National Institutes of Health)Can the CDC Save Itself? (New York Times Opinion)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Rob Lott dive into the health care and climate change provisions in the newly signed Inflation Reduction Act.Related Links:Understanding The Democrats’ Drug Pricing Package (Health Affairs Forefront)Congress Poised To Extend Enhanced Marketplace Subsidies Through 2025 (Health Affairs Forefront)FACT SHEET: Inflation Reduction Act Advances Environmental Justice (White House)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs' Vabren Watts discusses the latest on monkeypox with Syra Madad and Andrew Wallach, both from NYC Health + Hospitals.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

This week, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) updated measures in the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS). This year, the organization included measures related to health equity for data and quality measurement.NCQA Executive Vice President Eric Schneider joins Health Affairs' Rob Lott on today's episode of Health Affairs This Week to discuss the measurement changes. Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Related Links:HEDIS MY 2023: See What's New, What's Changed and What's Retired (NCQA)A New Effort To Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities In Care Through Quality Measurement (Health Affairs Forefront)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Katie Keith, Jessica Bylander, and Leslie Erdelack unpack the latest proposed rule from HHS implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in certain health programs and activities. The proposed rule would reinstate civil rights protections for patients and consumers after the 2020 version of the rule limited the scope of these protections.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Related Links:HHS Proposes Revised ACA Anti-Discrimination Rule (Health Affairs Forefront)Proposed Rule Press ReleaseFact SheetSupreme Court Finds LGBT People Are Protected From Employment Discrimination: Implications For The ACA (Health Affairs Forefront)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Kathleen Haddad and Ellen Bayer discuss the new hotline and mental health initiatives in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.If interested in the Amazon-One Medical news from the week, listen to the limited podcast series Piecemeal produced for Health Affairs by Lalita Abhyankar.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Related Links:US Transition to 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Begins Saturday (HHS)Transforming Mental Health and Addiction Services (Health Affairs)Strengthening Behavioral Healthcare To Meet The Needs Of Our Nation (Health Affairs Forefront)Bipartisan Safer Communities ActPodcast: The Mental Health Crisis (Health Affairs Pathways) Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Rob Lott and Vabren Watts discuss the federal and state aftermath following the Supreme Court overturn of Roe v. Wade.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Related Links:Women's Live and Health: Mere Abstractions In The Leaked Dobbs Abortion Opinion (Health Affairs Forefront)As Mississippi Debates Abortion, Maternal Mortality Remains High (Jackson Free Press)HHS Secretary Letter to Health Care Providers About Emergency Medical Care FACT Sheet: President Biden To Sign Executive Order Protection Access to Reproductive Health Care Services (White House)Biden Admin to Pharmacies: Refusing to Fill Contraception and Abortion Pill Prescriptions Could Break Federal Law (Politico)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Kathleen Haddad discuss the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services latest measures regarding rural emergency hospitals and price transparency for hospitals and payers.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Related Links:CMS's Proposed Rule for Conditions of Participation for Rural Emergency Hospitals and Critical Access Hospital UpdatesPodcast: Hospitals At Large Are Failing At Price Transparency (Health Affairs This Week)Now Insurers and Employers Have To Reveal Health Care Prices (The Washington Post)Offering A Price Transparency Tool Did Not reduce Overall Spending Among California Public Employees And Retirees (Health Affairs)Price Transparency - Promise and Peril (JAMA)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Chris Fleming interview Manatt Health's Cindy Mann on budget neutrality requirements for Medicaid 1115 demonstrations.This episode was recorded on June 23, 2022.Related Links:Rethinking The Budget Neutrality Requirement for Medicaid 1115 Demonstrations (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

As part of Pride Month, listen to Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Kathleen Haddad discuss the White House's executive order on LGBTQI+ equality and its impact on health care.Related Links:Privately Insured Transgender People Are At Elevated Risk For Chronic Conditions Compared With Cisgender Counterparts (Health Affairs)Podcast: A Health Podyssey with Landon HughesLesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults Report Continued Problems Affording Care Despite Coverage Gains (Health Affairs)The Battle Over Gender Therapy (The New York Times Magazine)2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health (The Trevor Project)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission launched a formal inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Vabren Watts discuss the FTC's probe into PBMs and how vertical integration and consolidation may affect patients and health care consumers.Related Links:FTC Launches Investigation Into Major Pharmacy Benefit Managers' Business Practices (FierceHealthcare)A Six-Step Solution To The PBM Problem (Health Affairs Forefront)On Drug Prices, Pharmacy Benefit Managers Are Not The Problem (Health Affairs Forefront)PBM Oversight, Insulin Cost-Sharing Provisions Among Build Back Better Act (Health Affairs Forefront) Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Ellen Bayer go over the big health policy headlines from this week, including what we know about Monkeypox, the implications of the latest Medicare Trustees Report, and nursing home workforce shortages.Related Links:2022 Medicare Trustees Report (CMS)Medicare's Supplementary Medical Insurance Fund: A Growing Burden on Taxpayers (Health Affairs Forefront)The Coming Crisis For The Medicare Trust Fund (Health Affairs Forefront)Fact Sheet: Protecting Seniors by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation's Nursing Homes (White House)The Waltz: To Improve Nursing Home Care, Invest In The Workforce (Health Affairs Forefront)Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available — and we’d like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and Podcasts free for everyone.Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Rob Lott and Chris Fleming put the FDA under the microscope on user fees and baby formula shortages.Related Links:FDA User Fee Reauthorization Bill Emerges In Both Chambers (Health Affairs Forefront)Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces New Actions to Address Infant Formula Shortage (White House)Biden Invokes the Defense Production Act for the Baby Formula Shortage (NPR)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses the subject of gun violence and death.Health Affairs's Jessica Bylander and Vabren Watts discuss this week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas and the recent history of gun policy in the United States.Violence permeates our society. One response to violence is to better understand its origins and how to prevent it.We invite you to read the Violence and Health issue of Health Affairs from 2019 to better understand the impacts that gun violence has on communities. The issue will be open access and free to read until June 1, 2022.For Mental Health Awareness month, we'd like to share the reminder that if you are experiencing a mental health emergency, you can call the national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP for support.Related Links:Violence and Health (Health Affairs)Adolescent Exposure To Deadly Gun Violence Within 500 Meters Of Home Or School: Ethnoracial And Income Disparities (Health Affairs)From Sandy Hook to Buffalo and Uvalde: Ten years of failure on gun control (The Washington Post)Current Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States (New England Journal of Medicine)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Chris Fleming and Tim Jost discuss Supreme Court cases that could strip enrollees in Medicaid and other programs of the right to sue to enforce their rights.Related Links:Is The Supreme Court Poised To Wipe Out Legal Rights For Medicaid Beneficiaries? (Health Affairs Forefront)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

“In addition to this being a public health issue, these questions around health equity appear to have motivated FDA’s decision to move on developing these new product standards.” – Leslie Erdelack On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Ellen Bayer unpack the FDA's proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and its public health implications including concerns for health equity. Related Links:FDA Proposes Action On Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars (Health Affairs Forefront) FDA Proposes Rules Prohibiting Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars to Prevent Youth Initiation, Significantly Reduce Tobacco-Related Disease and Death (FDA)Opinion: How the Tobacco Industry Hooked Black Smokers on Menthols (New York Times)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Early this week, Politico published a draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would overturn abortion rights in the United States.On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Health Affairs' Senior Editors Jessica Bylander and Chris Fleming unpack the leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade and could have sweeping health care implications beyond just abortion care.Related Links:Supreme Court Has Voted To Overturn Abortion Rights, Draft Opinion Shows (Politico)Penalizing Abortion Providers Will Have Ripple Effects Across Pregnancy Care (Health Affairs Forefront)26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here's Which Ones and Why (Guttmacher Institute)Can Congress Resurrect Roe If It's Overturned? Well, It Could Try (The Washington Post)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Rob Lott go over the big health policy headlines from this week, including details on childhood vaccinations, Title 42 and the intersection of public health and border policies, and federal drug control strategies.Related Links:Borders, Immigrants & Health Theme Issue (Health Affairs)Health Care Gaps For Migrants & Asylum Seekers On The Mexico Border During COVID-19 (A Health Podyssey)Vaccination Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten - United States, 2020-21 School Year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Fact Sheet: 2022 National Drug Control Strategy That Outlines Comprehensive Path Forward To Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic (White House)Key Facts About Title 42, The Pandemic Policy That Has Reshaped Immigration Enforcement At US-Mexico Border (Pew Research Center)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health Affairs This Week is on a break this week. Today, we are publishing an episode from A Health Podyssey, where Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry. Health Affairs This Week will return next week.Subscribe to A Health Podyssey: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts The United States is facing a drug affordability crisis. Even as we celebrate scientific discovery, the health benefits of drugs are limited due to barriers of affordability, often even for people with health insurance. The RAND Corporation reports that on average drug prices in the United States are more than two and a half times those in 32 other nations studied. The disparities are even wider when we focus just on brand name drugs.Drug pricing is the subject of seemingly perennial debates. One side focuses on access barriers due to high prices while the other side argues that lower prices threaten future innovation. Stacie Dusetzina from Vanderbilt University Medical Center joins A Health Podyssey to talk about the complex world of drug pricing.She and colleagues published a paper in the April 2022 issue of Health Affairs examining the degree to which people with Medicare prescription drug benefits use the drugs that are prescribed to them.In the paper, the authors found non-initiation rates among some beneficiaries of greater than 50 percent for certain treatments.If you enjoy this interview, order the April 2022 Health Affairs issue to get research on access to care, hospitals and more.

Listen to Health Affairs' Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad and Health Equity Director Vabren Watts discuss advancing health equity in health policy and publishing.“Once you start advancing one aspect of equity, you start advancing other aspects of equity,” says Watts. The two highlight Health Affairs' work on health equity since launching a formal plan in January 2021 and research highlights from our digital publication Health Affairs Forefront as well as our February 2022 theme issue on Racism And Health. Related Links:COVID-19 Data On Trans And Gender-Expansive People, Stat! (Health Affairs Forefront)Structural Racism And Black Women's Employment In The US Health Care Sector (Health Affairs)Walmart Opening 5 Health 'Superstores' In Delayed Florida Launch (Healthcare Dive)Health Equity (Health Affairs)Racism and Health Theme Issue (Health Affairs)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

President Joe Biden's administration this week published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the "family glitch" in the Affordable Care Act. In essence, the rule would revise the eligibility for premium tax credits for families. It's a wonky but important policy measure. In today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Georgetown University's Katie Keith break down the proposed rule, what the "family glitch" is, how the Biden administration seeks to amend it, and what impact that may have on families including access to affordable care.Sign up for Katie Keith's Health Reform newsletter.Related Links:New Biden Executive Order Aims To Build On Coverage Gains (Health Affairs Forefront)Biden Administration Proposes To Fix The Family Glitch (Health Affairs Forefront)President Biden Moves To Fix a 'Glitch' in the Affordable Care Act (TIME)Health Policy Brief on The Family Glitch (Health Affairs)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast