Category: Policy

Why the opioid crisis and youth mental health demand urgent parity reforms in 2025

At the beginning of 2024, the nation continued to experience the impact of three declared public health emergencies with significant behavioral health implications: COVID-19, Mpox, and the opioid crisis. At the same time, three major national associati…

Pay for performance and shared savings are good, but they’re not the solution

Think about every health care reform effort we’ve been working on for the last decade or two, including accountable care organizations (ACOs) and the value-based purchasing models from CMS. The vast majority of them use one or both of the followi…

Fostering health care innovation through federal policy: a case for direct primary care

Abstract The United States health care system faces escalating costs, access disparities, and significant physician burnout. Direct primary care (DPC) offers a transformative approach by emphasizing patient-centered care, price transparency, and reduce…

Tobacco’s time warp: How centuries of smoke obscured our future

In the halls of the Smithsonian, we often contemplate how the past shapes our present. But a groundbreaking new study on tobacco use forces us to consider how our present actions will dramatically alter our future. Research published in The Lancet Publ…

The political crossroads shaping the future of medical training

As a training physician, the experience of navigating graduate medical education in today’s political landscape has introduced unprecedented adversity Whether transitions in health policy or the continually evolving public perceptions of medicine…

Medicare’s decision to stop telehealth coverage in 2025: an urgent call to action

Medicare is planning to stop coverage for telehealth in 2025—unless Congress acts by the end of 2024. According to Medicare’s website: Absent Congressional action, beginning January 1, 2025, the statutory limitations that were in place for Medica…

How the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan provides a practical solution to medication nonadherence

Starting January 1, 2025, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP) will give providers a powerful way to address one of the biggest barriers to effective care: cost-related medication nonadherence. With 54 million Medicare beneficiaries eligible, …

How fee-for-service shapes your doctor’s decisions

An excerpt from Reshaping Health Systems: What Drives Health Care and How You Can Change It. Copyright © 2024, Wolters Kluwer. Clinical case Jessica is a 67-year-old woman having her very first visit with her new primary care clinician, Dr. Jackson. Je…

How fee-for-service shapes your doctor’s decisions

An excerpt from Reshaping Health Systems: What Drives Health Care and How You Can Change It. Copyright © 2024, Wolters Kluwer. Clinical case Jessica is a 67-year-old woman having her very first visit with her new primary care clinician, Dr. Jackson. Je…

Texas’ Medicaid expansion: a lifesaving solution ignored

Most Texas politicians balk at even discussing Medicaid expansion. They fear the wrath of state leadership and the threat of being primaried by someone further to the right. The expansion of Medicaid to the full extent permitted by the Affordable Care …