Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Adam Markovitz of the University of Michigan about his recent paper exploring the growing role of third-party firms in Medicare ACOs, highlighting how they have contributed to wider participation and more geographically dispersed networks while raising questions about how these structures relate to shared savings outcomes.

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Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Geoffrey Hoffman of the University of Michigan about his recent paper exploring the structure of Medicare’s hospital wage index and discusses the growth of exceptions over time, exploring their implications for how the system functions and whether it meets its intended policy objectives.

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Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Yashaswini Singh of Brown University about her recent paper that explores how private equity acquisitions in primary care are associated with changes in utilization, spending, and workforce composition.

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THIS SPONSORED PODCAST EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CVS HEALTH.

In this sponsored episode, James Margiotta, Chief Growth Officer at CVS Caremark, joins Health Affairs Publishing's Jessica Bylander to unpack the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), their impact on prescription drug costs, and the value PBMs bring to the health care system.

James has nearly 35 years of experience driving innovation, operational excellence, and enterprise value across the healthcare system. In his current role, James leads the team responsible for partnering with clients to identify their unique needs and bringing forward strategic solutions to meet their objectives.

Throughout his career at CVS Health, James has scaled businesses across CVS Caremark, CVS Accountable Care, Minute Clinic, Aetna, and CVS Pharmacy — each with its own challenges, cultures, and market dynamics.

James and Jessica's conversation explores how PBMs help employers, health plans, governments, and unions manage rising prescription drug costs while balancing affordability, transparency, and member experience. James explains CVS Caremark’s approach to controlling costs, dives into the growing demands for price transparency, and how artificial intelligence may transform pharmacy benefits and member navigation services.

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Abe Sutton, Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, about the ACCESS model and broader efforts to test payment and delivery reforms aimed at improving affordability, expanding digital health, and generating real-world evidence in Medicare.

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Welcome to a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. This episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy.

In our third and final episode for the series in 2026, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Alison Barkoff of George Washington University to the program to discuss the rising economic and social importance of family caregiving, recent federal policy shifts affecting Medicaid and caregiver programs, and new interventions at the state and private‑sector levels.

Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation.

Related Links:

• Reflections On Caregiving Policy: Progress, Challenges, And Opportunities (Health Affairs Forefront)
• History Repeats? Faced With Medicaid Cuts, States Reduced Support For Older Adults And Disabled People (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Long Term Services and Supports Initiative
• National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers
• Nation Alliance for Caregiving's Caregiver Nation Coalition

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Jeff Romine of Carelon Research about his recent paper exploring new research on how extreme heat affects health care use and costs, finding consistent increases in emergency department visits and some hospitalizations, but little change in outpatient care.

Order the May 2026 issue of Health Affairs.

Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis.

Welcome to a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. This episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy.

In our second episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Bianca Frogner, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Washington to discuss the role of direct care workers in long‑term care, workforce shortages, policy shifts affecting Medicaid, immigration, labor standards, and more.

Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation.

Related Links

• Health Care Workforce Pay Gaps: COVID-19 Modestly Compressed Wage Disparities, 2015–24
• The AWARD Network
• PHI

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Dhara Patel of the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School about her recent paper exploring national trends in cold‑related illness hospitalizations and how climate change and social vulnerability shape health risks across the United States.

Order the May 2026 issue of Health Affairs.

Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis.

Welcome to the first episode in a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. The episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy.

In our first episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Hemi Tewarson of the National Academy for State Health Policy to discuss how The Big Beautiful Bill will impact Medicaid and state health policies affecting older adults. Their conversation explores work requirements, Medicaid financing changes, rural health investments, the sustainability of age‑friendly services, and more.

Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation.