Health Affairs This Week

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Deputy Editor Chris Fleming to the program to discuss the latest hurdle to the FTC's attempt to ban noncompete agreements in employment contracts, and what the implications are for the health care industry.This week, Health Affairs released their September 2024 issue focusing on access to care, coverage, & more.Read the issue here and order your copy today!Health Affairs also published a new health policy brief from Paula Lantz and Emma Carter about the role of direct democracy in state policy making as it relates to the drivers of population health and health disparities.Related Articles:The FTC's Noncompete Rule: Legal Challenges And Potential Solutions For Physician Markets (Health Affairs Forefront)Judge strikes down FTC noncompete ban nationwide (Healthcare Dive)Fight over health noncompete pacts far from over (Axios)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Seth Berkowitz of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine to the program to discuss his recent book "Equal Care: Health Equity, Social Democracy, and the Egalitarian State," which offers a vision for the future of health equity by examining the social mechanisms that link injustice to poor health.Order the September 2024 issue of Health Affairs.Check out A Health Podyssey to hear further insights from authors featured in our journal.Learn more about Seth's book.Related Articles:Unconditional Cash Study (OpenResearch)Food Insecurity Was Associated With Greater Family Health Care Expenditures In The US, 2016–17 (Health Affairs)Unmet Social Needs And Worse Mental Health After Expiration Of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (Health Affairs)Food Insecurity, Missed Workdays, And Hospitalizations Among Working-Age US Adults With Diabetes (Health Affairs)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Ellen Bayer to the program to discuss the ongoing progress of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, how it's being implemented, and how we can best evaluate the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.Health Affairs will be hosting a virtual Journal Club event on Tuesday, August 27, entitled "Coverage of Anti-Obesity Medicines Could Increase Medicare Spending By Billions" featuring author Benedic Ippolito discussing his recent paper on the topic.This event is exclusive to our Health Affairs Insiders. If you have yet to become an Insider, sign up today to stay up-to-date on what health care experts are thinking and talking about.Related Articles:Is It Working? Evaluating The First Round Of Medicare Drug Price Negotiations (Health Affairs)FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New, Lower Prices for First Ten Drugs Selected for Medicare Price Negotiation to Lower Costs for Millions of AmericansThe First-Ever Government Negotiation Process For Drugs Has Finished, But The Politics Are Ongoing (Health Affairs Forefront)FAQs about the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (KFF)Explaining the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (KFF)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Leslie Erdelack back to the program to discuss recent cybersecurity events that have affected both health care businesses and patients alike, prevention measures, and what does a provider do when their technology tools aren't working.This week, Health Affairs published two ahead-of-print articles. You can check those out below: Is It Working? Evaluating The First Round Of Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Expanding Medicare Coverage Of Anti-Obesity Medicines Could Increase Annual Spending By $3.1 Billion To $6.1 BillionRelated Articles:FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Bolsters Protections for Americans’ Access to Healthcare Through Strengthening Cybersecurity

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Stacie Dusetzina of Vanderbilt University back to the program to discuss an interim staff report released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the impact that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have on the accessibility and affordability of prescription drugs.Check out the August 2024 issue of Health Affairs.RSVP for our upcoming Age-Friendly Health Briefing entitled "What Do Recent Nursing Home Developments Mean for Residents, Families, and the Future of Long-Term Care?" in partnership with The John A. Hartford Foundation.Become an Insider to not miss out on Stacie Dusetzina's exclusive newsletter, Policy Prescription, which focuses on drug pricing.Related Articles:PRESS RELEASE: FTC Releases Interim Staff Report on Prescription Drug MiddlemenMerging Medical And Drug Benefits: Seeing The Whole Picture (Health Affairs Forefront)Three Key Ways To Strengthen Proposed Pharmacy Benefit Manager Regulations (Health Affairs Forefront)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Marianne Amoss to the program to explore the state of maternal health in health care and what a recent policy proposal from CMS could do to reduce maternal mortality and advance health equity.RSVP for our upcoming Age-Friendly Health Briefing entitled "What Do Recent Nursing Home Developments Mean for Residents, Families, and the Future of Long-Term Care?" in partnership with The John A. Hartford Foundation.Become an Insider to not miss out on Stacie Dusetzina's exclusive newsletter, Policy Prescription, which focuses on drug pricing.Related Articles:PRESS RELEASE: Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities (CMS)How bad is maternal mortality in the U.S.? A new study says it's been overestimated by Selena Simmons-Duffin (NPR)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott to the program to discuss a recent policy proposal that would result in prohibiting medical debt from being included in credit reporting and how the upcoming presidential election could play into the policy's implementation.Read our "ahead-of-print" article on how adverse childhood experiences and health care utilization and expenditures.   Check out this year's You're A Health Policy Wonk If... contest!Submit an abstract for our upcoming theme issue focusing on Food, Nutrition, and Health. Submissions are due by Monday, July 29th.Submit an article for the Forefront series "Supplemental Benefits in Medicare Advantage." Submissions will be taken on a rolling basis through June 2025.Related Articles:FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces Proposal to Prohibit Medical Bills from Being Included on Credit Reports and Calls on States and Localities to Take Further Actions to Reduce Medical DebtIllness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy (Health Affairs)Medical Bankruptcy: Dranove And Millenson Respond (Health Affairs)The Joint Distribution Of High Out-Of-Pocket Burdens, Medical Debt, And Financial Barriers To Needed Care (Health Affairs)HEALTH POLICY BRIEF: Health, Income, & Poverty: Where We Are & What Could Help (Health Affairs)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Leslie Erdelack to the program to discuss FDA's recent approval of an Alzheimer's treatment drug, Lilly’s Kisunla, how private insurers and Medicare may cover the drug, and the emerging new class of drugs surrounding Alzheimer's treatment.We announced the winner for our You're A Health Policy Wonk If... contest this week!Until July 20, we are having a flash sale on Health Affairs Insider membership. Use the code HealthWonkLife for $30 off the normal Insider price.Check out our Request For Abstracts page for the April 2025 theme issue focusing on Food, Nutrition, and Health.Related Articles:Approval of Newest Alzheimer’s Drug Will Accelerate New Era of Treatment by Peter Loftus and Joseph Walker (Wall Street Journal)Press Release: Lilly's Kisunla Approved by the FDA for the Treatment of Early Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Andrew Twinamatsiko of O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law back to the program to discuss the Supreme Court's recent overturning of the Chevron doctrine and the implications for health policy moving forward. Check out our Request For Abstracts page for the April 2025 theme issue focusing on Food, Nutrition, and Health.Related Articles:The Supreme Court And The Future Of Expert Preventive Recommendations by Richard Hughes IV (Forefront)Two Obscure Cases about Fish May Disempower Health Agencies by Suhasini Ravi, Andrew Twinamatsiko, and Lawrence O. Gostin (MedPage Today)What the Supreme Court’s Rulings on Chevron in Loper Bright Enterprises and Relentless Could Mean for Health Care by Suhasini Ravi (The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers chats with Senior Editors Kathleen Haddad and Meg Winchester about their recent trip to AcademyHealth's 2024 Annual Research Meeting (ARM) in Baltimore and the main takeaways that the two found regarding private equity, opioid use, and solutions-orientated research.Order the July 2024 Issue of Health Affairs.Related Links:Request For Abstracts – Food, Nutrition, And HealthProtecting Patients And Society In An Era Of Private Equity Provider Ownership: Challenges And Opportunities For Policy by Christopher Cai and Zirui Song (Health Affairs, May 2024)A Health Podyssey: Christopher Cai on Responding To Challenges Posed By Private EquityAccountable Care for Population Health (a Forefront series)