JAMA Health Forum Editors' Summary

President Biden has signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act containing important provisions related to prescription drug costs. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda B. Buntin, PhD, discuss the effects of these provisions on patients with Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Related Content:

• New Reforms to Prescription Drug Pricing in the US
• Estimating Rebates and Other Discounts Received by Medicare Part D
• Estimation of the Share of Net Expenditures on Insulin Captured by US Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Pharmacies, and Health Plans From 2014 to 2018
• Spending by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Before and After Confirmation of Benefit for Drugs Granted US Food and Drug Administration Accelerated Approval, 2012 to 2017
• Improving Prescription Drug Affordability Through Regulatory Action

Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017 was one of the most costly and catastrophic storms in US history. In this podcast, Maricruz Rivera-Hernandez, PhD, of Brown University speaks about her study of migration and mortality among patients with kidney failure requiring dialysis in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda B. Buntin, PhD.

Related Content:

Changes in Migration and Mortality Among Patients With Kidney Failure in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, discusses his article investigating the association of the Medicare Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program with changes in patient care experience at safety-net vs non–safety-net hospitals with JAMA Health Forum editors John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Melinda B. Buntin, PhD.

Related Content:

Association of the Medicare Value-Based Purchasing Program With Changes in Patient Care Experience at Safety-net vs Non–Safety-net Hospitals

In July 2022, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, took on a new role as the 17th editor in chief of JAMA and the JAMA Network. In conversation with Nobel laureate Harold Varmus, MD, Bibbins-Domingo discusses her research background, approaches to leadership in health care, and the critical role that journals play in communication about public health and science.

Related Content:

• The Urgency of Now and the Responsibility to Do More—My Commitment for JAMA and the JAMA Network
• A Conversation With Dr Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, JAMA’s New Editor in Chief (video)
• A Conversation With Dr Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, JAMA’s New Editor in Chief (audio)

Through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion has yielded clear improvements in insurance coverage and access to care for low-income adults younger than 65, but has Medicaid expansion also had spillover benefits for adults 65 and older? In this interview with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, Melissa McInerney, PhD, describes how older adults with low incomes and limitations related to chronic conditions were more likely to have Medicaid coverage and recent visits with physicians in states that have expanded Medicaid for younger adults than those in nonexpansion states.

Related Content:

• Spillover Benefits of Medicaid Expansion for Older Adults With Low Incomes
• Medicaid Expansion and Health Care in Older Adults With Low Income and Chronic Condition Limitations

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need for accelerated collaborative research in health care systems. In a conversation with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD, of the Joint Commission (and formerly of HCA Healthcare) discusses lessons learned from a novel COVID-19 research consortium developed through a collaboration of HCA Healthcare, the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and numerous academic partners.

Related Content:

Harnessing COVID-19 Data Through Collaboration—The Consortium of HCA Healthcare and Academia for Research Generation

The health care workforce has yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a concerning trend of increasing numbers of physicians leaving the workforce. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Bianca Frogner, PhD, of the University of Washington new findings that show how all segments of the health care workforce have struggled, with more pronounced effects among long-term care workers, aides, assistants, workers with young children, and workers of color.

Related Content:

• Tracking Turnover Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• US Health Care Workforce Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Changes in Material Hardship During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Prison staff and residents have faced increased risks of COVID-19 infections. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Jeremy Goldhaber-Fiebert, PhD of Stanford University about patterns of COVID-19 vaccinations among staff in California state prisons. They also speak with Jaimie Meyer, MD, MS of Yale University about efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccinations among prison staff and residents in California and other states.

Related Content:

Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccination Among Frontline Workers in California State Prisons

For the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency, state Medicaid programs elected to maintain eligibility for Medicaid recipients in exchange for increased federal funding. In this podcast, Dr Laura Dague of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University discusses her JAMA Health Forum article finding that this policy was associated with the higher Medicaid enrollment seen during the pandemic. JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin discuss the policy implications of this work with Dr Dague and other recent articles touching on Medicaid enrollment.

Related Content:

Trends in Medicaid Enrollment and Disenrollment Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Wisconsin

Medicaid Disenrollment After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Medicaid Coverage Disruptions Among Children Enrolled in North Carolina Medicaid, 2016-2018

Association of Medicaid Expansion in Arkansas With Postpartum Coverage, Outpatient Care, and Racial Disparities

Overuse of health care, or providing services of low value or no value, is wasteful, potentially harmful to patients, and a contributor to high US health care costs. Jodi Segal, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine joins JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin to discuss characteristics of health systems associated with overuse of health care services for Medicare beneficiaries and the implications for health systems, hospitals, and clinicians seeking to reduce such overuse.

Related Content:

• Factors Associated With Overuse of Health Care Within US Health Systems