Dear John,

ICYMI, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil welcomed Douglas Jacobs, Chief Transformation Officer at CMS, for another edition of Policy Spotlight.

Watch the discussion on our YouTube channel. Please subscribe to our channel to find past event coverage and learn more about the findings in Health Affairs.

The Effects of Georgia’s Reinsurance Waiver

In the March issue of Health Affairs, David Anderson of Duke University and coauthors explore the impacts of Section 1332 reinsurance waivers on Marketplace premiums, minimum cost of coverage, and enrollment for Marketplace enrollees in Georgia. 

For more on the paper’s methods and findings, check out a recording of the March Journal Club featuring author David Anderson and Health Affairs Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad.

Journal Club is one of our exclusive premium events available to our Health Affairs Insider members. If you aren't an Insider yet, become one today!

Setbacks For Pharmaceutical Industry In Challenges To Medicare Drug Price Negotiations

Zachary Baron and Sheela Ranganathan

CBO Score For The Bipartisan Primary Care And Health Workforce Act Recognizes The Value Of Primary Care Health Investments

Leighton Ku and Sara Rosenbaum

A Health Podyssey: Courtney Baird on How County-Level Mandates Slowed COVID-19 Transmission

Health Affairs' Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Courtney Baird of Brown University on her recent paper that explores how county-level mandates were generally effective at slowing COVID-19 transmission.

Through their research, Baird and coauthors discovered strong evidence for the overall protective effect of mask mandates and, to a lesser degree, anti-congregation policies.

Newsmakers: Nursing Homes Increasingly Rely On Staffing Agencies

Retaining staff in nursing homes, says March issue author John Bowblis, has been a longstanding challenge.

In a WTOP-FM interview, Bowblis discusses the increased use of agency nurses to fill these positions. He notes that while these workers fulfill the minimum staffing requirements, residents are less able to build ongoing relationships with temporary staffers, and the nurses won’t get to know their patients well enough to become mindful of their individual needs.

From a policy perspective, Bowblis suggests that increased reliance on agency staff, which are costlier than employees, may reduce the financial resources available to improve the overall quality of care.