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Dear John,

If there is one thing that 2021 has proven, it’s that COVID-19–related research will continue to remain a priority for our readers. Some of our most popular articles evaluate vaccine efficacy and the evolution of health care services in the age of telemedicine.

Millions of COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out across the nation, but new variants emerged, exacerbating concerns around health care costs and spending within a new presidential administration.

Here are the most-read Health Affairs articles of 2021.

Vaccinations Against COVID-19 May Have Averted Up To 140,000 Deaths In The United States by Sumedha Gupta et al.

In this paper, the authors examined the impact that COVID-19 vaccination had in reducing virus-related deaths. They determined that the reductions in COVID-19 deaths associated with vaccines had translated to a value of statistical life benefit ranging between $625 billion and $1.4 trillion.

Health Costs And Financing: Challenges And Strategies For A New Administration by William Shrank et al.

In early 2021 William Shrank and coauthors offered recommendations for the Biden administration focused on health costs and financing. Their recommendations centered on policy priorities including insurance coverage expansion, improving prescription affordability, and value-based care.

Actualizing Better Health And Health Care For Older Adults by Terry Fulmer et al.

By 2030, one in five Americans are expected to be age sixty-five or older. Fulmer and coauthors argue that the current health care system is not prepared for the complexity of care that will be required for older adults. In this article, researchers provide directions to improve the care and quality of life for all older Americans.

National Health Care Spending In 2019: Steady Growth For The Fourth Consecutive Year by Anne Martin et al.

A paper published ahead-of-print in 2020 examined a steady growth of health care spending, particularly for hospital care, physician and clinical services, and retail purchases of prescription drugs, all of which accounted for 61 percent of total national health spending in 2019.

Clinical Outcomes Of A COVID-19 Vaccine: Implementation Over Efficacy by A. David Paltiel et al.

In a paper published ahead-of-print in 2020, researchers evaluated the relationship between a COVID-19 vaccine’s efficacy and implementation and found that factors related to implementation and distribution related more to the success of a vaccine program.

They noted that vaccine benefits decline substantially in the event of manufacturing or deployment delays, significant vaccine hesitancy, or greater epidemic severity.

Graduate Medical Education Should Not Be A Commodity by Sharon Griswold

In a personal essay, Sharon Griswold wrote about the abrupt closure of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia in 2019, which had served the Philadelphia region for over 170 years.

The hospital served as a safety-net institution for underserved people and was once the epicenter of graduate medical education. Griswold identifies the lessons learned from the hospital’s closure.

You can also listen to her read the story on the Narrative Matters podcast.

High Nursing Staff Turnover In Nursing Homes Offers Important Quality Information by Ashvin Gandhi et al.

In this article, authors examined how nursing staff turnover could provide significant quality information about nursing homes. They found that turnover rates were correlated with a number of factors, such as facility location, for-profit status, and chain ownership.

Variation In Telemedicine Use And Outpatient Care During The COVID-19 Pandemic In The United States. by Sadiq Patel et al.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to telemedicine services. In a paper published in February 2021, the authors evaluated the variation in outpatient visits across demographics, specialties, and conditions.

Physicians’ Perceptions Of People With Disability And Their Health Care by Lisa Iezzoni et al.

Over sixty-one million Americans have disabilities, and increasing evidence documents that people with disabilities experience disparities in health care. Researchers assessed physicians’ perceptions and biases toward people with disabilities to determine how potentially biased views could contribute to health care disparities.

Private Equity Investments In Health Care: An Overview Of Hospital And Health System Leveraged Buyouts, 2003–17 by Anaeze Offodile II et al.

How do private equity deals impact hospitals? In an analysis of private equity–backed hospital acquisitions over the course of 2003–17, researchers examined how acquisitions affected operating margins, staff positions, and other expenses within hospitals.

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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