Health Affairs This Week

Latest Episodes:

Sabrina Corlette on the Health of Health Reform Apr 21, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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.

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Abortion Pill Mifepristone Has Its Day(s) In Court Apr 14, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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.

Melanie Bella on Medicaid Expansion and Beyond Apr 07, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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 Law
Integrating 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)

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The Controversy Around Pharmacy Benefit Managers Mar 31, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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)

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The Cost of Insulin Mar 24, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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)

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What the President's Budget Means for Health Care Mar 17, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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)

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A Seat For All: Building Health Equity Into Scholarly Programs Mar 10, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Listen to Health Affairs' Vabren Watts and Ryann Tanap discuss a new peer-reviewed article published in Learned Publishingwhere 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)

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Health in US Prisons and Jails Feb 24, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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 Ventures
Racial 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)

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Health Care Highlights From the 2023 State of the Union Address Feb 17, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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)

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Road Mapping Health Care Spending and Value Feb 10, 2023

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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.