Dear John,

Next week, Stacie Dusetzina from Vanderbilt University joins the Insider program, authoring a special newsletter on drug pricing. 

Health Affairs Scholar Volume 2, Issue 4 Highlights

Volume 2, Issue 4 of Health Affairs Scholar features research on e-visit billing trends, the impact of pharmacy deserts on access to essential services, the effectiveness of licensing waivers in expanding access to tele-mental health care and more.

The introduction of online digital evaluation and management (E&M) by CMS aimed to allow clinicians to address patient concerns asynchronously through patient portal messages, known as e-visits.

In this month’s Editors’ Choice article, Terrence Liu and coauthors explore e-visit billing trends considering mounting concerns that the increasing volume of portal messages may contribute to physician burnout.

The authors found that while e-visits constitute a small percentage of billed care, primary care providers bill more frequently for these services than other specialists.

A study by Rachel Wittenauer and colleagues investigates the locations and characteristics of communities living in pharmacy deserts across the United States.

Antonios Koumpias and coauthors discuss the impact of licensure waivers on access to out of state tele-mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their results indicate a significant increase in out of state tele-mental health care utilization following licensing waivers particularly among established patients and those living in rural areas neighboring urban centers.

However, the effectiveness of waivers varied across metropolitan statistical areas, highlighting the need for policy makers to consider regional factors and existing regulatory frameworks to promote greater accessibility.

Also included in the issue:

Debbie Chang highlights evidence-based opportunities to address domestic violence in light of the newly released National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

Brandon Doan and coauthors explore the complex decisions surrounding resource allocation in jails and prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dunc Williams, Jr. and colleagues examine the impact of real estate investment trusts and private equity investments on the financial performance of nursing homes.

Amelia Haviland and coauthors compare the clinical quality of care available for dually eligible individuals across the three most common Medicare coverage options.

Promoting 988 And 911 Coordination To Ensure Timely And Appropriate Mental Health Crisis Response

Leah G. Pope et al.

Expanding VBP: Fixing Design Flaws

Amol S. Navathe et al.

Evidence On Private Equity Suggests That Containing Costs And Improving Outcomes May Go Hand-In-Hand

Linda J. Blumberg and Kennah Watts

Expanding VBP: Overcoming Implementation Barriers

Daniel K. Shenfeld et al.

Inferred Risk: Reforming Medicare Risk Scores To Create A Fairer System

Abe Sutton and Gabriel Drapos

Addressing Electronic Health Record Contributions To Diagnostic Error

Raj Ratwani et al.

A.C.C.E.S.S. AI: Framework For Advancing Health Equity In Health Care AI

Zainab Garba-Sani et al.

Improving Access To Medigap When Beneficiaries Leave Medicare Advantage

Paul Ginsburg and Steven Lieberman

Health Affairs Reads: How To Endure A Pandemic And Learn Almost Nothing

Arthur Caplan

A Health Podyssey: Amy Stiffarm on Supporting Perinatal Mental Health Within Indigenous Communities

Health Affairs' Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Amy Stiffarm of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: The Montana Coalition on her recent paper that explores strategies to support perinatal mental health by collaborating with tribal communities in Montana.

How the ACA Market Has Matured w/ Sabrina Corlette and Jason Levitis

This month, HHS released the final "Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters" for 2025. This final notice sets standards and requirements for the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and health insurers.

Sabrina Corlette and Jason Levitis, who co-authored a piece about the notice in Health Affairs Forefront, join Health Affairs This Week host Jeff Byers to discuss the new standards and how the ACA marketplace has matured over the years.

On May 9, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil will be joined by the current National Coordinator, Micky Tripathi, and several of his predecessors for a look back at the achievements of the ONC on electronic health records, interoperability, meaningful use, and a look forward at the opportunities and challenges ahead in health information technology, including harnessing artificial intelligence, improving data analytics, and expanding digital health.

The current list of participants is:

• Micky Tripathi (2021- ), National Coordinator for Health IT

• David Brailer (2004-2006), Chief Medical Officer, The Cigna Group

• Rob Kolodner (2006- 2009), Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, ViTel Net

• David Blumenthal (2009-2011), Professor of the Practice of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health

• Karen DeSalvo (2014-2016), Chief Health Officer, Google