Health Affairs This Week

This week, Health Affairs released the annual national health care spending data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Using data from 2020, the first data which relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report found health spending reached a record high in 2020.  But Health Affairs had some of its own news this week as well. We are rebranding our respected Health Affairs Blog into a new digital publication named Health Affairs Forefront.  Health Affairs' Rob Lott and Chris Fleming convene on Health Affairs This Week to discuss CMS' new national health care spending data and what's behind the rebrand to Health Affairs Forefront.Related Links:National Health Care Spending In 2020: Growth Driven By Federal Spending In Response To The COVID-19 Pandemic (Health Affairs)Welcome to Health Affairs Forefront (Health Affairs Forefront)Innovation At The Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services: A Vision For The Next 10 Years (Health Affairs Forefront)The Workforce for Non-Police Behavioral Health Crisis Response Doesn't Exist - We Need To Create It (Health Affairs Forefront)Podcast: LIVE with with Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator (A Health Podyssey)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

With 2021 about to be in the rearview mirror, Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Ellen Bayer gather on Health Affairs This Week to quickly chat about some of the biggest developments in health policy for the year.Looking back, they talk about the Biden administration's health agenda - which includes a focus on health equity and innovation - as well as the Build Back Better measure, how infrastructure relates to health policy, and where we move from here.Related Links:Innovation At The Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services: A Vision For The Next 10 Year (Health Affairs Blog)A Strategic Vision For Medicaid And The Children's Health Insurance Program (Health Affairs Blog)How the House Spending Bill Would Expand Health Care Benefits (The Washington Post)Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (White House)My First 100 Days and Where We Go From Here: A Strategic Vision for CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

The first Omicron COVID-19 variant case was confirmed in the state of California this week. But there is a lot we don't know about this new COVID-19 variant. On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Rob Lott discuss what's known (and not known) about the new variant, global health inequity, and how the HIV/AIDS epidemic can inform the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Related Links:President Biden Announces New Actions to Protect Americans Against the Delta and Omicron Variants as We Battle COVID-⁠19 this Winter (White House)What the AIDS crisis can teach us about the COVID pandemic response (NPR)2021 Worlds AIDS Day Report (UNAIDS)National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States 2022-2025 (White House)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Since its inception, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has faced legal challenges. With the law on the books for more than 10 years, the measure is still facing litigation.Cases currently pending before the Supreme Court include Section 1557, the ACA’s primary nondiscrimination provision. The court is still considering to take on additional cases against the ACA related to the health insurance tax and hospital reimbursement policies.To discuss and make sense of the myriad challenges and lawsuits, Georgetown University's Katie Keith joins Health Affairs' Senior Editor Chris Fleming on Health Affairs This Week. Together, they review the latest ACA challenges [and litigation] and where the courts may take the measure. Related Links:ACA Litigation Round-Up: What's Resolved, What's On Hold, And What's Still Moving? (Health Affairs Blog)Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C. (SCOTUSblog)CVS Health Partners With Disability Community In Commitment To Affordable And Equitable Access To Health CareDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (SCOTUSblog)Supreme Court Whether 340B Hospitals Retain Discounts on Medicare Part B Drugs (Commonwealth Fund)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Last week, a lot of the coverage regarding the U.S. off-year election cycle focused on the victory of Republican Glenn Youngkin in Virginia.But there were a number of amendments throughout state elections that focused on public health initiatives.Listen to Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Jeff Byers review some of the public health ballot measures, which touched on topics such as food insecurity, right to food, environmental rights, and police reform.Related Links:The Importance Of Mental Health Workers For Mobile Crisis Response (A Health Podyssey)Enlisting Mental Health Workers, Not Cops, In Mobile Crisis Response (Health Affairs)Policing, Pot, Housing And The 'Right To Food': Which Ballot Measures Passed (Governing)The New Environmental Rights Amendment To The New York Constitution (National Law Review)As The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Passes, Here's What's Next For Biden's Economic Plans (CNBC)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Health spending currently accounts for nearly 18% of the US' Gross Domestic Product.If the nation spends so much on health care - about $11,500 per person in the US - then are we getting a good value in return for that spending?Last week, Health Affairs launched a newsletter for our Considering Health Spending initiative to bring readers a forum for emerging research that sheds light on how much the nation spends on health care and how we might improve the value of that spending or even change the spending trajectory. The first issue of the monthly newsletter dives into some classic research on health care spending and value, including the seminal 2003 piece, "It's The Prices, Stupid." On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Health Affairs Senior Editor Laura Tollen joins Deputy Editor Rob Lott to share details on the initiative and discuss the ways researchers are addressing key questions about health care spending and value.Sign up for the Considering Health Spending newsletter.Join the Considering Health Spending LinkedIn group.Related Links:Considering Health Spending The Relationship Between Health Spending and Social Spending In High-Income Countries: How Does The US Compare? (Health Affairs)Variation In Health Spending Growth For The Privately Insured From 2007 To 2014 (Health Affairs)What's Been The Bang For The Buck? Cost-Effectiveness Of Health Care Spending Across Selected Conditions In The US (Health Affairs)Getting The Price Right: How Some Countries Control Spending In A Fee-For-Service System (Health Affairs)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, UK, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a special report on climate change and health. The organization proposed a set of recommendations for the global health community to act on the climate crisis.Drawing from the research and insights from Health Affairs' Climate & Health theme issue (2020), Health Affairs' Senior Editor Leslie Erdelack and Deputy Editor Rob Lott discuss WHO's climate recommendations and review how climate can be folded into the scope of health policy.Related Links:Transforming The Medical Device Industry: Road Map To A Circular Economy (Health Affairs)Developing A Definition Of Climate And Health Literacy (Health Affairs)How Public Health Took Part in Its Own Downfall (The Atlantic)COP26 Special Report on Climate Change and Health (World Health Organization)\Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Last week, it was reported that President Joe Biden is considering Robert Califf to lead the Food and Drug Administration.The appointment, which has yet to been made official, comes as a mid-November deadline to appoint an FDA Commissioner looms. Currently, the acting commissioner for the agency is Janet Woodcock.On Health Affairs This Week, Senior Editors Jessica Bylander and Chris Fleming dive into Califf's consideration, why it's important the agency has a leader, and give an overview of the role FDA plays in regulation outside of drugs and medical devices.Related Links:Biden Zeroes In On Califf To Head FDA As Deadline Nears (The Washington Post)The FDA Has Been Without A Permanent Leader For 8 Months As COVID Cases Climb (NPR)Seven Former FDA Commissioners: The FDA Should Be An Independent Federal Agency (Health Affairs)FDA Letter to President Biden, March 9, 2021 Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

The downstream effects of exclusionary, low-density residential zoning on health and health equity should make scholars and policy makers focus on reforming zoning to make housing more plentiful and affordable in healthy neighborhoods.Michael Lens, associate professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy and associate faculty director of the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies at the University of California Los Angeles, recently shared his perspective on the topic in a Health Policy Brief published last month.On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Lens joins Health Affairs Deputy Editor of Special Content Rob Lott to discuss his research and how low-density zoning relates to health and health equity.Related Links:Low-Density Zoning, Health, and Health Equity (Health Affairs)Eviction And Health: A Vicious Cycle Exacerbated By A Pandemic (Health Affairs)Gentrification And The Health Of Legacy Residents (Health Affairs)To Stem The Spread of COVID-19, Address The Challenges Of Crowded Housing (Health Affairs Blog)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

In October, Health Affairs published an issue dedicated to perinatal mental health.There has long been an awareness of the harm associated with perinatal depression and mood disorders. Perinatal depression and mood disorders occur in the context of social, economic, and other health conditions that affect the well-being of birthing people, families, and communities. Prevention, screening, and treatment can promote mental health in pregnant and postpartum individuals, but it is sporadic, and there are many missed opportunities as individuals seek and obtain care within the health care system and community.The purpose of this theme issue is to explore the policy opportunities and evidence behind those options for improving support for people before, during, and after giving birth. In today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Senior Editors Leslie Erdelack, Ellen Bayer, and Kathleen Haddad discuss the publication process and highlight the research insights from the issue.Order the October Perinatal Mental Health Issue.Health Affairs thanks Jennifer Moore, founding executive director of the Institute for Medicaid Innovation, for serving as theme adviser for the perinatal mental health papers in the October issue. We thank the California Health Care Foundation, Perigee Fund, and ZOMA Foundation for their financial support of this issue.Related Links:Health Affairs' Perinatal Mental Health IssueA Humane Approach To Caring For New Mothers In Psychiatric Crisis (Health Affairs)Preventing Pregnancy-Related Mental Health Deaths: Insights From 14 US Maternal Mortality Review Committees, 2008-17 (Health Affairs)Perinatal Mental Health Care In The United States: An Overview Of Policies And Programs (Health Affairs)Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast