Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Dear John,
Today, author Anthony LoSasso from DePaul University joins us on A Health Podyssey to discuss his recently published paper examining the effects of insurer market power on prices paid to hospitals. Listen here.
COVID-19 Testing Deserts
Drawing on the Department of Agriculture’s definition of food deserts to characterize "COVID-19 testing deserts," Caitlin Radford and coauthors evaluate the availability and accessibility of COVID-19 testing in Massachusetts in March 2021.
By analyzing census tract data, the authors find COVID-19 testing deserts in 35.3 percent of segregated Hispanic tracts, 51.3 percent of segregated Black tracts, 53.3 percent of mixed minority tracts, and 24.1 percent of integrated tracts compared with only 5.6
percent of segregated White tracts.
"These testing deserts were overrepresented in counties with high COVID-19 incidence rates, suggesting that lack of access to test sites could prevent timely COVID-19 diagnosis and self-isolation," Radford and coauthors explain.
Looking forward, the authors urge that "any framework for testing deserts [should] not overlook structural inequities within urban communities," and note that "all testing deserts in Massachusetts occurred in urban areas."
Today in Forefront, Ezekiel Emanuel provides the first of a three-part series in which he identifies "megatrends" that will
characterize US health over the rest of this decade. The first article, published today, examines trends and predictions related to system and payment reform.
Lawrence Gostin and coauthors discuss the impact that the adoption of a Pandemic Treaty would have in operationalizing equity.
Health Affairs is launching a contest! The premise is simple. Finish the statement "You’re A Health Policy Wonk If…"
We'll share some of the submissions on Forefront in July, and the first-place winner of the contest will receive a Health Affairs tumbler and a free Unlimited membership for a year. Submit by May 31.
Insurer Market Power And Hospital Prices
Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Anthony LoSasso from DePaul University on his recently published paper examining the effects of insurer market power on prices paid to hospitals.
This month, we're highlighting influential Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices and organizations
who have made an impact on health equity and policy.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
