JAMA Health Forum Conversations
JAMA Health Forum Conversations is a podcast from JAMA Network that explores health policy, health care systems, and the forces shaping medicine. Each episode features conversations with researchers, policymakers, and clinicians about evidence and ideas published in JAMA Health Forum. Topics include access, quality, safety, equity, costs, and reform in national and global health care. The show translates peer-reviewed research and expert opinion into accessible discussion for anyone interested in how health policy affects patients and populations.
Episodes
Health Policy Research Priorities Toward Improved Rural Population Health
More than 66 million people live in rural areas in the US. Rural populations have been falling behind urban populations in life expectancy and a range of health indicators for the past 2 decades. Katy Backes Kozhimannil, PhD, MPA, of the University of Minnesota joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss health policy and improving health for rural populations. Rela
Centering Corporate Activity in the Population Health Research Agenda
Commercial determinants of health drive chronic disease through corporate influence on science, regulation, and public narratives. JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, speaks with Laura Schmidt, PhD, MSW, MPH, of University of California, San Francisco, about health equity, industry approaches, and policy solutions. Related Content: Centering Corporate Activity in the Popula
Policy Approaches to Securing an Adequate Nursing Workforce for Years to Come
There can be no health care system without an adequate supply of well-educated nurses. Linda H. Aiken, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the distinction between a supply problem and a deployment and retention problem and their direct policy implications. Related Content: Policy Approaches to Ensuring an Adequate Nurs
Aging America: Policy, Workforce, and the Future of Long-Term Care
The US's aging population is reshaping health policy, care models, and workforce demands. This episode examines the structural challenges and urgent innovations required for long-term care as JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with Harvard's David Grabowski, PhD, a leading expert in aging policy. Related Content: The Implications of Population Aging for Health Policy
Science Bearing Witness in a Post-Dobbs World
The 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization decision had consequences for access to abortion in the US, resulting in near-total abortion bans in effect in more than a dozen states. Diana Foster, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the impact of the Dobbs decision and role of science in documenting
The Year We Lost Medicaid
Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD, from Columbia University discusses policy shifts that may reshape healthcare for millions in the US with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief and "The Year We Lost Medicaid" author Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: The Year We Lost Medicaid
Keeping Health Equity at the Forefront of the AI Revolution
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools in health care and public health can bring efficiency and new approaches that might improve health. These tools may also have implications for health equity. Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, of the University of Pennsylvania joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI in health care and public health. R
Market-Based Solutions to Improve US Health Care
How do we better deploy market-based solutions to improve health care in the US? Lanhee Chen, PhD, of Stanford University joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss how market-based approaches can complement public strategies to create a health care system that is more adaptive, responsive, and fiscally sustainable. Related Content: A Role for Market Forces in US
In Search of US Pharmaceutical Policy Innovation
Pharmaceuticals are a central—and costly—element of the US health care system. Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the challenge and opportunity of delivering affordable drugs to as many people as possible. Related Content: In Search of Pharmaceutical Policy Innovation in the US
The Future of Primary Care in the US
Historically, there has been less focus on primary care than on specialist care in US health care. What are the challenges and opportunities in primary care today? What might it look like in the coming decades? Robert Phillips, MD, MSPH, of The American Board of Family Medicine joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the future of primary care in the US. Related
Changes in Policy and the Health of LGBTQ+ Populations
There is abundant evidence that sexual minority groups have worse health indicators than sexual majority groups. Gilbert Gonzales, PhD, MHA, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the current policy landscape and its potential impact on the health of LGBTQ+ populations. Related Content: Health Implications of Recent Poli
The Centrality of Women's Health to a Population Health Research Agenda
Both sex- and gender-based factors influence the health of women. A fully realized population health agenda needs to center women's health as an area of conceptual and pragmatic focus. Rosa M Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss women's health, inequities, and how women's many and different identities shape their health. Related
National Policy to Support Better Mental Health in the US
About 1 in 5 adults in the US live with a mental health condition. In 2023, approximately 32% of US adults reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, of the University of California, Davis, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss how national policy can better support mental health in the US. Related Content: Toward a Strategy to Improve N
The Impact of Nonhealth Policies in a Time of Policy Disruption
The second Trump administration launched several actions in 2025 that directly affect the health of populations. Sara Bleich, PhD, of Harvard Chan School of Public Health joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the nonhealth policies that may matter most to health and warrant ever-more attention, particularly in a moment of policy turbulence. Related Content: T
The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence and Regulation
The evolution of artificial intelligence technology has outstripped most health policy oversight in the US. Michelle M. Mello, JD, PhD, Professor of Law and Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University, discusses this and more with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: Inaction on Artificial Intelligence Regulation in a Time of Upheaval
Improving Health and Health Care Affordability in the US with David Cutler
The US is an outlier in health system performance, spending more than other peer countries while performing worse. US economist David Cutler, who is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, discusses this and more with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: On Making US Health Care Great and Affordable
The Threat to Health Insurance Coverage in the US
Increased health insurance coverage in the US has had a broad range of positive impacts on US health, including increases in preventive care and better chronic disease management. Larry Levitt, MPP, of KFF joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss challenges facing US health insurance coverage today. Related Content: The Ongoing, and Heightened, Threat to Health
The Potential Repercussions of Disinvestment in Health in the US
The first months of the Trump administration have been marked by a flurry of actions, many that have affected agencies directly related to health domestically and globally. Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the contemporary threats to the health of the American public. Related
The US, the World Health Organization, and a New Era in Global Health
US withdrawal from the World Health Organization will have significant implications for global health. Lawrence Gostin, JD, JAMA Legal and Global Health Correspondent and Faculty Director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss global health in an era of new uncertainty. Relate
What's Next for JAMA Health Forum and for Health Policy?
Incoming Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, discusses the journal and the state of health policy with Deputy Editor Julie Donohue, PhD, and Senior Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: JAMA Health Forum: Meet the Editor in Chief, Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH JAMA Health Forum—Paving the Way for the Future of Health Policy Science and Scholarship
Farewell Conversation With JAMA Health Forum Founding Editor in Chief John Ayanian
Founding Editor in Chief John Ayanian, MD, MPP, reflects on the origins and the highlights of the journal's first 5 years, including seminal publications, the journal's current No. 1 slot in the rankings, and the amazingly collegial editorial team, with JAMA Health Forum founding Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Reflections on the First 5 Years of JAMA Health Forum
Impact of US Tobacco 21 Policies on Potential Mortality Reductions by State
Research shows that Tobacco 21 (T21) policies with a minimum legal age to purchase tobacco products of 21 years reduce youth smoking, yet their potential long-term impact varies across US states. Jamie Tam, MPH, PhD, of the Yale University School of Public Health discusses these findings with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content:
Extreme Heat Health Consequences
Extreme heat in the US led to deaths and hospital admissions among community-dwelling older adults with low incomes. Hyunjee Kim, PhD, of the Oregon Health & Science University, and Jose F. Figueroa, MD, MPH, of Harvard University, discuss these findings with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Heat Waves and Adverse Health Even
Physician Altruism and Quality of Care
The use of care by patients of physicians considered more altruistic differs from the use of care of physicians considered less. Lawrence P. Casalino, MD, PhD, MPH, of Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses his work around this with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Physician Altruism and Spending, Hospital Admissions, and Emergenc
Health Care–Related Savings Accounts, Health Care Expenditures, and Tax Expenditures
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, spoke with Sherry Glied, PhD, and Dong Ding, MA, MPA, of New York University, about the effects of participation in health care savings accounts. Participation in flexible spending accounts is linked to higher health care and tax expenditures, while health care savings accounts do not reduce expenditures. Relat
Highlights From the AcademyHealth 2024 Annual Research Meeting
AcademyHealth CEO Aaron Carroll, MD, MS, shares highlights from the AcademyHealth 2024 Annual Research Meeting in an interview hosted by JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. John and Melinda then discuss key findings from 4 highly rated abstracts presented at the meeting that were published concurrently as Original Investigations in JAMA Health For
Health Care–Based Voter Registration: A New Venue to Increase Voter Participation
More than 50 million adults in the US are eligible to vote but not registered. Alister F. Martin, MD, MPP, of Harvard University, and Katherine McCabe, PhD, of Rutgers University speak with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, about a program to register new voters in health care settings that has enrolled younger and racially and ethnically divers
Differences in Services Provided at Public and Nonprofit Hospitals Related to the 340B Drug Discount Program
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, speaks with Kelsey M. Owsley, PhD, of the University of Arkansas, and Sayeh Nikay, PhD, MPH, of the University of Minnesota, about how the 340B drug discount program influences the services offered by public and nonprofit hospitals. They also discuss new state policies and proposed federal policies to promote greater transparency and accountability i
Measuring Medicaid Enrollment More Accurately to Guide Post–COVID-19 Pandemic Policy
Benjamin D. Sommers, MD, PhD, of Harvard University, speaks with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, about differences in Medicaid enrollment as measured in surveys and administrative data. These differences have implications for estimating coverage now that the federal policy of continuous Medicaid eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic has end
Comparing Home Health Services in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Rachel A. Prusynski, DPT, PhD, of the University of Washington about differences in the use and outcomes of home health services provided to beneficiaries in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Related Content: Differences in Home Health Services and Outcomes Between Traditional Medicare an
Changes in Access to Care and Preventive Services by Race and Ethnicity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in ambulatory care. In this interview with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, of Harvard Medical School discusses how access to care and preventive services changed for different racial and ethnic groups in the US from 2019 to 2022. Related Content: Changes in
Opioid Prescription Duration Limits
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Lindsay D. Allen, PhD, about how setting-specific opioid prescription duration limits helped reduce opioid overuse in West Virginia. Related Content: Opioid Prescribing Patterns After Imposition of Setting-Specific Limits on Prescription Duration
Trends in Smoking Among US Adults From 2011 to 2022
Smoking remains a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the US. Rafael Meza, PhD, of the British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, discusses recent trends in smoking by US adults across different age and income groups in this interview with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Trends in US Adult Smoking Preval
The History, Economics, and Policy Context of Pharmacy Benefit Managers
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Ge Bai, PhD, CPA, author of Pharmacy Benefit Managers: History, Business Practices, Economics, and Policy, about how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have evolved in recent decades to play a central role in the US prescription drug market, including the benefits and policy challenges that PBMs present
Economic Burden of Untreated Mental Illness in Indiana
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, spoke with Heather Taylor, MD, from Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, about the costs of untreated mental illness in the state of Indiana. Considering a wide set of direct and indirect costs, her team estimated the cost to Indiana is over $4 Billon per year. Related Content: Econ
Innovative Approach to Promote Equitable Access to COVID-19 Preventive Therapy
In this interview, JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, explore with Erin K. McCreary, PharmD, and Atheendar S. Venkataramani, MD, PhD, how a large regional health system used a weighted lottery and intensive outreach to provide high-risk individuals in disadvantaged communities more equitable access to scarce monoclonal antibodies for preventing C
How Safe Were Kids in School During Phases of the Pandemic?
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Sandra B. Nelson, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston), her JAMA Health Forum study of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools in Massachusetts during 2 different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. She found transmission rates were very low but varied by district and the availability of vaccines. Rel
FDA Advisory Committees for New Prescription Drugs
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Associate Editor Julie Donohue, PhD, speak with Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, and Genevieve P. Kanter, PhD, about the role of advisory committees convened by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to guide its decisions on whether to approve new prescription drugs. They also consider how the FDA has responded to recommendations from these
Challenges of Addressing Food and Housing Insecurity in a Medicaid Context
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, talk with Anne N. Thorndike, MD, MPH, about the challenge of connecting Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) members with flexible benefits to address food and housing insecurity issues. Dr Thorndike and colleagues used a mixed-methods approach to conduct this evaluation of the implementation of a novel
Health Care Use and Spending Among Dual-Eligible Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries
JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Brystana G. Kaufman, PhD, Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, how health care use and spending differ for individuals residing in the community or nursing homes who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. They also explore the potential value of more tailored approaches to integrating ben
Quality of Care and Visit Volume in Federally Qualified Health Centers During COVID-19
In this interview, JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Megan B. Cole, PhD, MPH, about changes in performance measures and use of ambulatory services provided by federally qualified health centers in the US during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Related Content: Changes in Performance Measures and Service Volume at US Feder
Best Practice in Adjusting For Social Risk
Adjusting quality measurements and payments for health care services to reflect the social as well as clinical risk factors of patients is controversial. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda B. Buntin, PhD, discuss a structured approach that can be used to make decisions about social risk factor adjustment in Medicare with Yale's Kasia J. Lipska, MD. Relate
Predicting Future Malpractice Claims
In this interview, JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with David A. Hyman, JD, MD, about the role of paid malpractice claims in the past as a predictor of future paid malpractice claims, including how this link applies to lower-risk and higher-risk medical specialties. Related Content: Association of Past and Future Paid Medical Malpracti
Use of Mental Health Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health care in many domains, including mental health services. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Ryan K. McBain, PhD, MPH, of RAND Corporation how the use of mental health care—both in-person and telehealth visits—changed for commercially insured adults during the first year of the COVID-19 pandem
Factors Contributing to the Slowdown in Medicare Spending Growth
Medicare spending growth per beneficiary has been historically low since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. JAMA Health Forum Deputy Editor Melinda B. Buntin, PhD, of Vanderbilt University, speaks with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Associate Editor Zirui Song, MD, PhD, about the factors that explain this slowdown in Medicare spending and the implications for poli
Increased Food Insufficiency in Households With Children
In this conversation with Zoe Bouchelle, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss the magnitude of the increase in food insufficiency among US households following the discontinuation of the COVID-19 pandemic–related monthly child tax credit payments. Related Content: Food Insufficiency Following Discont
Helping People Enroll in Marketplace Plans
Authors Andrew Feher, PhD, of Covered California, and Adrianna McIntyre, PhD, MPP, MPH, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, speak with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, about research on the best ways to help people losing Medicaid coverage to enroll in health insurance Marketplace plans so they do not become uninsured. Related Conten
Receipt of Out-of-State Telemedicine Visits Among Medicare Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, most states approved temporary regulatory changes so out-of-state physicians could provide telemedicine services to residents. Ateev Mehrotra, MD, of Harvard Medical School, and Chad Ellimoottil, MD, MS, of the University of Michigan, speak with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, about the features of telemedicine visit
Prescription Drug Cost Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act
President Biden has signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act containing important provisions related to prescription drug costs. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda B. Buntin, PhD, discuss the effects of these provisions on patients with Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Related Content: New Re
Migration and Mortality Among Patients With Kidney Failure After Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017 was one of the most costly and catastrophic storms in US history. In this podcast, Maricruz Rivera-Hernandez, PhD, of Brown University speaks about her study of migration and mortality among patients with kidney failure requiring dialysis in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor
Does Rewarding Better Patient Care Experience Punish Safety-net Hospitals?
Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, discusses his article investigating the association of the Medicare Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program with changes in patient care experience at safety-net vs non–safety-net hospitals with JAMA Health Forum editors John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Melinda B. Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Association of the Medicare Value-Ba
A Conversation With Dr Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, JAMA's New Editor in Chief
In July 2022, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, took on a new role as the 17th editor in chief of JAMA and the JAMA Network. In conversation with Nobel laureate Harold Varmus, MD, Bibbins-Domingo discusses her research background, approaches to leadership in health care, and the critical role that journals play in communication about public health and science. Related Content: The Urgency o
Spillover Benefits of Medicaid Expansion for Older Adults
Through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion has yielded clear improvements in insurance coverage and access to care for low-income adults younger than 65, but has Medicaid expansion also had spillover benefits for adults 65 and older? In this interview with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, Melissa McInerney, PhD,
Advancing COVID-19 Research in a Learning Health Care System
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need for accelerated collaborative research in health care systems. In a conversation with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD, of the Joint Commission (and formerly of HCA Healthcare) discusses lessons learned from a novel COVID-19 research consortium developed through a
Health Care Job Loss During the Pandemic
The health care workforce has yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a concerning trend of increasing numbers of physicians leaving the workforce. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Bianca Frogner, PhD, of the University of Washington new findings that show how all segments of the health care workforce have struggled
COVID-19 Vaccinations for California Prison Staff
Prison staff and residents have faced increased risks of COVID-19 infections. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Jeremy Goldhaber-Fiebert, PhD of Stanford University about patterns of COVID-19 vaccinations among staff in California state prisons. They also speak with Jaimie Meyer, MD, MS of Yale University about efforts to promote COVI
Medicaid Policy Associated With Increased Enrollment During the Pandemic
For the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency, state Medicaid programs elected to maintain eligibility for Medicaid recipients in exchange for increased federal funding. In this podcast, Dr Laura Dague of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University discusses her JAMA Health Forum article finding that this policy was associated with the higher Medicaid
Health System Factors Related to Overuse of Health Services in Medicare
Overuse of health care, or providing services of low value or no value, is wasteful, potentially harmful to patients, and a contributor to high US health care costs. Jodi Segal, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine joins JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin to discuss characteristics of health systems associated with overuse of health care servic
Unequal Burdens of Cost Sharing for Medicare Beneficiaries
Cost sharing is particularly burdensome for some Medicare beneficiaries, particularly those with incomes just above the poverty level, those with disabilities, or those who have multiple chronic health conditions. Jeanne Madden, PhD, of the Northeastern University School of Pharmacy, and Eric Roberts, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, speak with JAMA Health For
US Share of Insulin Expenditures Going to Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Intermediaries
There are many actors in the drug supply and distribution system, and little is known about the share of drug expenditures going to each, making it more difficult to rein in costs. JAMA Health Forum Associate Editor, Julie Donohue, PhD, and Deputy Editor, Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Neeraj Sood, PhD, lead author in a JAMA Health Forum study that unpacks the distribution of insulin expenditures
Medicaid Use and Spending for Drugs With FDA Accelerated Approval
State Medicaid programs are required to cover all drugs approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), including those that have received accelerated approval from the FDA to treat serious or life-threatening illnesses such as HIV or cancer. These drugs with accelerated approval may be beneficial based on surrogate end points such as changes in imaging or blood test results, but they have no
New Evidence on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Insurance Coverage
We know that the pandemic caused millions of people to lose their jobs, and potentially their job-based insurance, and yet new survey data showed surprisingly small changes in uninsurance rates at the end of 2020. Kate Bundorf, PhD, from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and Jessica Banthin, PhD, of the Urban Institute talk to JAMA Health Forum Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin abo
Self-reported Access to Firearms Among Patients Receiving Care for Mental Health and Substance Use
Firearms are the most common method of suicide in the US over the past decade. Primary care and mental health clinicians frequently interact with individuals at risk for suicide, but clinicians are often unaware of whether these patients have access to firearms. Julie Richards, PhD, from the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute talks to JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian and D
COVID-19's Shock to Health Care Services
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects on the use of health care services. Dr Nora Becker of the University of Michigan talks about her research on reductions in the use of women's preventive health services, and JAMA Health Forum Editors Dr John Ayanian and Dr Melinda Buntin discuss other JAMA Health Forum pieces on the effects of state "reopenings" on COVID-19 hospitalizations and de
Time and Financial Costs for Physician Practices Participating in MIPS
Participating in value-based incentive programs imposes financial and time costs on physician practices. Dhruv Khullar of Weill Cornell Medical College and Jason Hockenberry of Yale School of Public Health discuss these burdens, the challenge of quality measurement, and ways increase the "value" of value-based payment programs like Medicare's Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Related
Alternative Health Care Payment Models—The Case for A Portfolio Strategy
A portfolio approach to health care payment reform, where a set number of alternative payment models are selected for testing because they work together to reduce waste, could be a more efficient way to reduce costs and incentivize quality. Michael Chernew, PhD, of Harvard University explains the idea in a conversation with JAMA Health Forum editors John Ayanian, MD, MPP and Melinda Buntin, PhD. R
Welcome to the JAMA Health Forum Editors' Summary
JAMA Health Forum is a peer-reviewed, open access, online journal, focused on health policy, health care systems, and population health. Our podcast each month presents highlights of new content from the journal, including timely interviews with authors of research studies and commentaries. Follow us on jamahealthforum.com and jamanetworkaudio.com.
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