Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Stacey Pogue of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy about her recent Forefront article examining proposed updates to health plan price transparency rules, focusing on efforts to improve data usability and the ongoing challenges in making healthcare costs more accessible and actionable.

Join Health Affairs Publishing on May 13 for an exclusive Insider virtual event exploring individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs) with Urban Institute’s Jason Levitis.

Related Links:

• Taking Stock Of Proposed Updates To Health Plan Price Transparency Rules (Health Affairs Forefront)

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Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Michael Gerber back to the pod to discuss recent federal action on prior authorization, including CMS’s proposal to expand response-time requirements to prescription drugs. The conversation also covers insurer efforts to reduce prior auth volume, the promise of AI and prior authorization, and what increased transparency could reveal about costs.

To learn more, check out our recent Insider trend report on the current prior authorization landscape. And if you haven't already, join Insider today to get access to exclusive events, newsletters, cheat sheets, and reports.

Related Links:

• CMS proposes new deadlines for prior authorizations for drugs (Healthcare Dive)
• 2026 CMS Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs Proposed Rule (CMS)
• A Rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on 02/08/2024 (Federal Register)
• Health Plans Reduce Prior Authorization, Support Continuity of Care and Enhanced Consumer Communications (Blue Cross Blue Shield)
• AI speeds up prior auth, coding while driving higher costs for health systems: PHTI report (Fierce Healthcare)

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Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Deputy Editor Jessica Bylander back to the pod to explore the White House’s proposed FY 2027 HHS budget, outlining major cuts to health agencies and research programs and the emphasized investment on the Make America Healthy Again initiative.

Related Links:

• Celebrating Big Wins of the Trump Administration (HHS)
• President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Proposal Released (NAWDP)
• White House seeks 12% cut to HHS in 2027 (Healthcare Dive)

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Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to discuss recent health policy developments, including a Supreme Court ruling on conversion therapy, renewed Democratic interest in Affordable Care Act reform, and key findings from MedPAC’s latest Medicare payment report.

On April 20th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the Medicare Advantage market featuring Sachin Jain, David Meyers, and Grace Mackleby.

Related Links:

• 2027 Medicare Advantage Final Payment Rule: Key Changes Explained | David Meyers (Health Affairs This Week)
• Chiles v. Salazar (Conversion Therapy) (SCOTUSblog)
• Senate Democrats lay out plans to overhaul health insurance after setbacks under Trump (STAT)
• March 2026 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy

On an emergency pod episode, Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Brown University's David Meyers to the pod to unpack the 2027 Medicare Advantage final payment rule, including the higher-than-anticipated rate increase, changes to risk adjustment models, what is V28, and the tradeoffs between market stability and long-term program sustainability.

On April 20th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the Medicare Advantage market featuring Sachin Jain, David Meyers, and Grace Mackleby.

Related Links:

• Assessing Recent Regulatory Action On Medicare Advantage (Health Affairs Forefront)

Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Jeanne Lambrew of The Century Foundation to discuss her recent Forefront article exploring whether high deductibles and health spending accounts achieve their intended goals and how alternative approaches could improve healthcare affordability and access.

On April 20th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the Medicare Advantage market featuring Sachin Jain, David Meyers, and Grace Mackleby.

Also, check out our newest trend report focusing on the current state of prior authorization.

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Related Articles:

• Abandon—Don’t Expand—High-Deductible Plans Linked To Spending Accounts (Health Affairs Forefront)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Halle Tecco, investor, founder of Rock Health and professor at Columbia Business School, to the pod to discuss her new book, Massively Better Healthcare: The Innovator's Guide to Tackling Healthcare's Biggest Challenges. Their conversation explores why consumers are becoming a powerful force in healthcare, how innovation happens within complex systems, and what it takes to align technology, evidence, and incentives to drive meaningful change.

Related Links:

• Order Massively Better Healthcare: The Innovator's Guide to Tackling Healthcare's Biggest Challenges
• Check out Halle's podcast, The Heart of Healthcare Podcast

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Ben Ippolito of the American Enterprise Institute to the pod to discuss the growing debate over Medicare Advantage (MA) payments and coding intensity. They break down why MA plans typically receive higher federal payments than traditional Medicare, how diagnostic upcoding factors into that gap, and what a new study in Health Affairs Scholar reveals about policy changes aimed at reducing inflated coding.

On March 24th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on pharmacy benefit manager reform with Harvard Medical School's Benjamin Rome.

Related Articles:

• An updated analysis of coding pattern differences in Medicare Advantage (Health Affairs Scholar)
• The Trouble With MedPAC (Wall Street Journal)
• The Higher Price Tag on Medicare Advantage (Wall Street Journal)
• Aligning The MedPAC And CMS Estimates Of Coding Intensity: The Importance Of The Risk Model And Trend (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Medicare Advantage growth decelerates as insurers shed members for 2026 (Healthcare Dive)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Deputy Editor Leslie Erdelack back to the pod to break down recent turbulence at the FDA following the departure of Vinay Prasad, whose decisions around rare‑disease gene therapies courted controversy. They explore the fast‑growing rare disease therapeutics market, why traditional clinical trials often don’t work for ultra‑rare genetic conditions, and the new FDA draft guidance for rare disease drug development.

On March 24th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on pharmacy benefit manager reform with Harvard Medical School's Benjamin Rome.

Become an Insider to get access to this event, trend reports, cheat sheets, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

• FDA vaccines chief who ran afoul of pharma to depart (Politico)
• Rare Disease Therapeutics Market to Surpass US$ 495.27 Billion by 2033 as Gene Therapy, RNA-based Drugs, and Biologics Transform Patient Care (PR Newswire)
• FDA NEWS RELEASE: FDA Launches Framework for Accelerating Development of Individualized Therapies for Ultra-Rare Diseases 
• FDA illuminates new approval pathway for bespoke gene editing therapies (Fierce Biotech)
• One Pivotal Trial, the New Default Option for FDA Approval — Ending the Two-Trial Dogma (The New England Journal of Medicine)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Margaret Winchester to the pod to discuss Trump's recent State of the Union Address and unpacking its health care and health policy talking points, including most-favored nation drug pricing, health savings accounts, and if there's a path toward codification for either.

On March 24th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on pharmacy benefit manager reform with Harvard Medical School's Benjamin Rome.

Related Articles:

• National Health Care Spending Increased 7.2 Percent In 2024 As Utilization Remained Elevated (Health Affairs)
• Trump’s State of the Union trumpets healthcare greatest hits, but no new policies (Healthcare Dive)