Dear John,

Next week, Health Affairs will publish a new issue on Reimagining Public Health.

Check out an ahead-of-print article from Michelle Mello and coauthors, in which the authors assess how public health legal powers have become increasingly constrained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Licensure Policy Can Promote Effective Opioid Treatment

In the May issue of Health Affairs, Alene Kennedy-Hendricks and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University examine providers’ perspectives on the incorporation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) requirements in treatment program licensure standards.

After conducting a series of interviews with policy officials and providers, the researchers identify four key themes:

1. Interviewees viewed incorporating MOUD into state licensure requirements as a decision grounded in medical evidence.
2. Raising quality standards by requiring MOUD was viewed by some policy officials as in tension with maintaining an adequate provider supply.
3. Aligning state policies and programmatic support with MOUD access goals facilitated implementation of the licensure requirement.
4. Measuring compliance was challenging.

More on Access To Care

• Health Insurance Coverage In Low- And Middle-Income Countries Remains Far From The Goal Of Universal Coverage by Simiao Chen et al.
• Marketplace Health Insurance Ratings: Most Potential Enrollees Have Access To Plans Of Medium Or High Quality by Thomas C. Tsai et al.
• A Health Podyssey: Caitlin Carroll on Rural Hospital Survival

The 988 Crisis-Line Workforce: Lessons From Missouri

Danielle R. Adams et al.

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 to get inspired before submitting your entry!