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Thursday, May 23, 2024 | The Latest Research, Commentary, and News from Health Affairs

Dear John,

Health Affairs Scholar has been accepted for indexing in PubMed Central ([link removed] ) , a free full-text archive of thousands of biomedical and life sciences journals maintained by the US National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Inclusion in PubMed Central, the leading source of open-access articles, will bring additional visibility to articles published in the journal.

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Health Affairs Scholar Volume 2, Issue 5 highlights

Victor Roy, Darrick Hamilton, and Dave Chokshi discuss the impact of our existing economic paradigm ([link removed] ) , driven by free market principles and individualistic cultural norms, on health in the United States.

The authors advocate for a fresh perspective toward a health-focused political economy that confronts long-held cultural narratives and refocuses economic strategy on the health of people and communities.

The proposed strategy focuses on spurring action in three interconnected areas—capital allocation, caregiving infrastructures, and culture—with the aim of igniting transformative change across the health sector.

This commentary offers an introduction to a set of featured articles on health and political economy that will publish early next year.

The May issue showcases several studies focusing on Medicaid, offering diverse perspectives and in-depth analysis on the topic.

A study by Anna Morenz and colleagues examines disparities in telemedicine use ([link removed] ) between Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) and non-Hispanic White individuals insured through Medicaid living in Washington state.

Although the authors found telemedicine use to be 7.5 percent lower among the NHPI group, they noted much of the difference stemmed from the differential effects of key predictors of telemedicine use, including age, gender, and English language proficiency.

Johanna Maclean and coauthors report a 6 percent per year increase in prescription medications dispensed for mental health disorders ([link removed] ) among Medicaid enrollees following the adoption of a state paid sick leave mandate.

A study by Ilina Odouard, Jeromie Ballreich, and Mariana Socal underscores the need for new payment models to address Medicaid budget constraints ([link removed] ) given the substantial increase in spending and utilization of rare disease gene and RNA therapies.

Their findings indicate that pooled purchasing, preferred drug lists, and carve out initiatives may broaden access to therapies among Medicaid beneficiaries, but their impact on spending is unclear.

Continuing our exploration of Medicaid coverage for groundbreaking gene therapies, we revisit a notable Editor’s Choice article from our previous issue.

In December 2023, the FDA approved two potentially curative gene therapies for individuals with the most severe forms of sickle cell disease (SCD), currently priced at $2.2 million and $3.1 million.

In their brief report, Junelle Speller and colleagues explore the prevalence of this condition and analyze current health care service utilization ([link removed] ) and costs among SCD patients enrolled in Medicaid.

Their analysis shows the average annual total cost of care for a SCD enrollee was more than double that of a typical full-benefit enrollee, with costs disproportionately concentrated among those with severe SCD and clinical trial-eligible genotypes.

Those in the top 5 percent of health care spending incurred nearly $200,000 in annual costs, in addition to multiple inpatient stays and ED visits.

Findings from both studies emphasize the need to further explore innovative payment models that strike a balance between expanding access to transformative therapies and fiscal responsibility.

Be sure to sign up for new issue email alerts ([link removed] ) on the Health Affairs Scholar website to stay up-to-date on the latest research.

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The Need For Holistic Policy Thinking In Medicare ([link removed] )

Brian C. DeBusk et al.

The (Un?)intended Consequences Of COVID-19-Era Judicial Decisions And New Public Health-Related Laws ([link removed] )

Sabrina Adler et al.

We Need National Policies For Voice-Based Telepsychiatry ([link removed] )

Aleyah Johnson et al.

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Health Affairs launched its second annual You’re A Health Policy Wonk If… contest and the deadline for submissions is quickly approaching.

The premise is simple. Finish the statement “You’re A Health Policy Wonk If…”

Besides honor, the first-place winner will receive a free online journal subscription for a year.

Remember to submit by May 31.

Check out last year's submissions ([link removed] ) to get inspired before submitting your entry!

Submit
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Christopher Hoover on How Vaccine Targeting in California Improved Equity ([link removed] )

Health Affairs' Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Christopher Hoover of the California Department of Public Health on his recent paper that explores how California's COVID-19 vaccine equity policies helped to avert cases, deaths, and hospitalizations in affected communities.

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About Health Affairs

Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal ([link removed] ) at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online.

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Project HOPE ([link removed] ) 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.

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