TODAY ON THE BLOG

SUBSTANCE USE

New Interventions To Address Substance Use Disorder Must Take Financial Sustainability Into Account
By Dominic Hodgkin, Constance M. Horgan, Maureen Stewart, and Stephanie Jordan Brown

If new interventions are not financially sustainable, they might not be maintained in the organizations testing them and might not be taken up by the wider health care system—which means that they won’t have any lasting impact on the opioid epidemic or substance use more generally. Read More >>

HEALTH EQUITY

Philanthropy's Increased Focus On Health Equity Post–COVID-19
By Cara James

Most of the foundation executives and program staff surveyed by Grantmakers In Health said that since March 2020 (when COVID-19 started to flare up in the US), their health equity programming has changed or will change. Respondents also talked about their foundations' initiatives on diversity, equity, and inclusion, right in their own organizations. The most common challenge reported was getting their boards of trustees' support for these external and internal equity efforts. Read More >>

IN THE JOURNAL

CONSIDERING HEALTH SPENDING

Annual Out-Of-Pocket Spending Clusters Within Short Time Intervals: Implications For Health Care Affordability
By Steven Chen, Paul R. Shafer, Stacie B. Dusetzina, and Michal Horný

Steven Chen of Emory University and coauthors analyze the distribution of out-of-pocket spending throughout the year to draw insights about the implications for health care affordability. Read More >>

Beyond The High Prices Of Prescription Drugs: A Framework To Assess Costs, Resource Allocation, And Public Funding
By Jonathan J. Darrow and Donald W. Light

Jonathan J. Darrow of Harvard Medical School and Donald W. Light of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine provide a comprehensive framework for legislators and scholars to use in assessing the total societal costs of drugs. Read More >>

These articles appear in the series Considering Health Spending.

Read the February 2021 Table of Contents.

Subscribe to Health Affairs for full journal access.

HOT ARTICLES IN JANUARY

Arbitration Over Out-Of-Network Medical Bills: Evidence From New Jersey Payment Disputes
By Benjamin L. Chartock, Loren Adler, Bich Ly, Erin Duffy, and Erin Trish

Clinical Outcomes Of A COVID-19 Vaccine: Implementation Over Efficacy
By A. David Paltiel, Jason L. Schwartz, Amy Zheng, and Rochelle P. Walensky

Pricing Universal Health Care: How Much Would The Use Of Medical Care Rise?
By Adam Gaffney, David U. Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, and James G. Kahn

The Affordable Care Act Reduced Income Inequality In The US
By Matthew Buettgens, Fredric Blavin, and Clare Pan

National Health Care Spending In 2019: Steady Growth For The Fourth Consecutive Year
By Anne B. Martin, Micah Hartman, David Lassman, and Aaron Catlin

ELEVATING VOICES: Black History Month

Racial justice broke through the COVID-19 headlines in 2020. Conversations around racial equity included a link between racial justice and building a culture of health. This relationship was explained in a blog post by Alonzo Plough and Gail C. Christopher in which they state: "A culture of health and a culture of democracy are created and sustained within a web of mutuality that requires equity. We must come together as a society to end racism, as well as its systemic and structural manifestations."

About Health Affairs

Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at 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.

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