Ascertaining the infection fatality rate (IFR) of COVID-19 infections is essential in combating this pandemic. Anirban Basu selected 116 counties, spanning 33 states, with a total of 40,835 confirmed cases and 1,620 confirmed deaths through April 20, 2020, to calculate that the IFR in the US is 1.3 percent, with significant variations across counties. Read More
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Primary Care in COVID-19 Relief, Response, Resiliency Webinar Series What does primary care need to strengthen COVID-19 response? How can primary care reboot and reopen? Join the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) and special guests in a free, 3-part webinar series to share insights and conversation on primary care’s role in the “new normal” and what primary care needs to sustain essential services going forward and reopen even stronger.
To save lives and reopen the economy as soon as possible, the United States should
expand existing information systems, to make use of novel coronavirus (nCV) exposure history to aid in the public health response. We have both the technical capability and the privacy infrastructure necessary to create nCV “exposure registries” that are effective and in accordance with the rights of Americans. Read More >>
There are compelling health policy arguments for relaxing regulatory processes and requirements during a national emergency—strong action is necessary to
address the COVID-19 crisis. Yet while leaders across the federal agencies are focused on consumer-facing COVID-19 scams, there is not yet corresponding concern on payer-facing fraud and waste. Read More >>
We describe the steps that our group used to develop its self-triage website, and we examine what can be done in the short term to marry the data from the disparate self-triage systems to enhance and improve our nation’s response to COVID-19. We also discuss what can be done in the longer term so that we don’t engage in duplicative effort when the next pandemic
inevitably comes. Read More >>
On May 6, 2020, the Supreme Court heard one hour of oral argument over the validity of Trump-era rules to expand exemptions to the contraceptive mandate for religious or moral reasons. This post focuses on the questions asked by the justices and potential outcomes of the case. Read More >>
In response to the opioid crisis, some states have taken the approach of considering substance use during pregnancy to be a form of child abuse. Danielle Atkins and Christine Durrance examine hospital discharge data and find that in states with these policies, there is no reduction in neonatal abstinence syndrome, while there are lower rates of admission to substance use programs by pregnant women. Read More
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Ashley Leech and colleagues report that after almost two decades of increases, rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome reached a plateau in 2014. Read More >>
To identify, assess, and support family caregivers, we need to know who they are, what they are doing (or are expected to do), and what instruction and support they need. In a Health Affairs Blog post, Carol Levine writes that policies designed to help family caregivers should be based on a realistic assessment of what family caregivers do and what they need.
About Health Affairs
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journalat 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.
