The Connection
A roundup of recent Fund publications, charts, multimedia, and other timely content.
Having trouble viewing this email? View online
February 2, 2026
Facebook ([link removed] )
LinkedIn ([link removed] )
New Child Vaccine Guidelines Threaten Coverage
Changes to federal vaccine guidelines are threatening immunization for millions of U.S. children, particularly those relying on Medicaid and the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. Access to vaccines hinges on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. When the committee reverses a recommendation, Medicaid may no longer cover the cost of the vaccine, and VFC may be unable to provide the vaccine itself. On To the Point, George Washington University’s Allyson Crays and colleagues explain that the new policies could worsen health disparities and drive vaccination rates lower.
READ MORE ([link removed] )
Medicaid Postpartum Care Standards Need Strengthening
Nearly half of U.S. women who are pregnant or postpartum have Medicaid coverage, 80 percent of whom are enrolled in a Medicaid managed care (MMC) plan. In their deep dive into postpartum care expectations in MMC contracts, researcher Anne Rossier Markus and colleagues find that fewer than half of state contracts include services that are essential to high-quality postpartum care, and clinical guidelines for health care providers vary widely. They also discuss ways that states can safeguard and strengthen access to high-quality Medicaid postpartum care in the face of federal funding cuts.
READ MORE ([link removed] )
FEATURED CHART
Key Maternal and Infant Health Data Are at Risk
An important source of information on the health of mothers and babies is the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, known as PRAMS. Historically a collaborative partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and city and state health departments, PRAMS and the survey data it collects have supported hundreds of successful public health initiatives on lead-paint risk, shaken-baby syndrome, breastfeeding, and more. In January 2025, however, the software system used to gather PRAMS data was abruptly shut down by the Trump administration, and the survey now faces an uncertain future. Read our new explainer to learn how seismic changes at the CDC are jeopardizing PRAMS, and what might happen if the program is permanently discontinued.
READ MORE ([link removed] )
QUIZ
How much medical debt do Americans currently hold?
- $110 billion
- $220 billion
- $330 billion
- $440 billion
Scroll down to see if you got it right.
Adjusting Risk Adjustment in Medicare Advantage
Risk adjustment plays an important role in encouraging Medicare Advantage plans to enroll both healthy beneficiaries and those with complex health needs who need more costly care. But concerns have grown that weaknesses in the federal government’s current risk adjustment system may be inflating payments and wasting taxpayer dollars. Our new explainer walks you through how Medicare Advantage risk adjustment works in and why policymakers are considering reforms. You’ll learn how risk scores are calculated and used to adjust payments, why current data and coding practices raise concerns, and which policy changes could address these issues.
READ MORE ([link removed] )
Fighting Chronic Disease Through Medicare
Most Americans age 65 and older have at least one chronic condition, and 80 percent report multiple conditions, such as hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Yet U.S. adults, including Medicare beneficiaries, are less likely than people in other high-income countries to have access to primary care providers — the clinicians on the frontlines of identifying and managing chronic conditions. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, David Blumenthal, M.D., Elizabeth Fowler, and Gretchen Jacobson offer a host of recommendations for the federal government to tackle two obstacles to primary care: a shortage of providers, and care that may be available but is often unaffordable to those needing it.
READ MORE ([link removed] )
Commonwealth Fund Board Gets New Members
Anthony Keck and Marti Taylor have joined the Commonwealth Fund board. As chief transformation officer at Ballad Health, Anthony Keck leads enterprise-wide strategy and process improvement, information technology, digital services and analytics, research, and marketing and service line communications for an integrated delivery system serving rural southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. Marti Taylor began her career as a cardiac ICU nurse and brings decades of leadership across health systems, behavioral health, and Medicaid innovation. She currently serves as CEO of OhioRISE and vice president at Aetna, where she leads a specialty Medicaid plan serving more than 50,000 Ohio youth with complex behavioral health needs.
Mental Health Coverage Rule Not Enforced
While the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 requires insurers to cover behavioral health services the same way they cover other types of care, “noncompliance remains widespread,” say Georgetown University’s JoAnn Volk and Madison Harden-Stein. Writing on To the Point, they note that while a 2024 rule strengthened the parity law, the Trump administration has announced it won’t enforce the key requirements. Ultimately, states have primary responsibility for enforcing health standards, the authors say.
READ MORE ([link removed] )
Mental Health and Firearm Injuries
The firearm injuries that parents suffer are associated with increased rates of psychiatric disorders and mental health visits in their children ([link removed] ) , Harvard Medical School researchers have found. They recommend that teams caring for injured parents seek permission to coordinate with children’s pediatricians, who can monitor for emerging mental health needs. Read Transforming Care to learn about other strategies health systems are using to prevent firearm injuries ([link removed] ) and support victims of gun violence.
QUIZ: Answer
The answer is B. Americans’ medical debt totals more than $220 billion.
This amount could rise in 2026 with the end of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and the weakening of federal oversight. According to Georgetown University’s Maanasa Kona and colleagues, the Trump administration’s hobbling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has led to a rollback of its actions to limit the harms of medical debt. In response, many states passed a range of new protections ([link removed] ) in 2025, including expanding financial assistance for hospital care, capping interest on unpaid bills, and keeping medical debt off credit reports.
Affordable, quality health care. For everyone.
The Commonwealth Fund, 1 East 75th Street, New York, NY 10021
Unsubscribe ([link removed] )
Manage preferences ([link removed] )
