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Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to take a look at the recent government shutdown, how health policy plays into it, HHS layoffs, the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, the ACA marketplace, and more.

Join us for this upcoming event:

• 11/5: Health Benefits in 2025: Insights from the KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

Become an Insider today to get access to exclusive events and our upcoming third trend report.

Related Articles:

• Judge pauses shutdown layoffs at more than 30 federal agencies (NPR)
• Medicare backs off plan to pause doctor payments amid shutdown (STAT)
• White House: Shutdown layoffs will be ‘north of 10,000’ (Politico)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Troyen A. Brennan of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and former CMO at CVS Health to the pod to discuss his new book, Wonderful and Broken: The Complex Reality of Primary Care in the United States. The conversation touches on themes within the book, including the current state of primary care, the diffusion of ideas in the health care space, the paradox of value-based care driven by Medicare Advantage, innovation in the Medicaid space, and what opportunities there could be to improve health care outcomes.

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Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Dr. Yul Ejnes of Brown University Health to the pod to discuss a recent Forefront article he authored about the trend of deprofessionalization in the health care workforce and potential antidotes to address these issues.

Learn more about the topic of the health care workforce with a Health Affairs Insider trend report.

Join us for this upcoming Insider exclusive events:

• 10/15: Immigration Policies and Their Impact on Health Care

Become an Insider today to get access to our trend reports, events, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

• Deprofessionalization: An Emerging Threat To The Physician Workforce (Health Affairs Forefront)
• The Health Care Workforce: A Challenge In Sustainability (Health Affairs)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Ellen Bayer back to the pod to discuss the release of a HHS' new strategy document focusing on childhood chronic disease as part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, specifically the goals surrounding food, diet, and nutrition.

Join us for these upcoming Insider exclusive events:

• 9/29: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform
• 10/15: Immigration Policies and Their Impact on Health Care

Become an Insider today to get access to our trend reports, events, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

• Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report
• The MAHA Report - Assessment Document
• Prevalence and Trends in Pediatric-Onset Chronic Conditions in the United States, 1999–2018 (Academic Pediatrics)
• Food, Nutrition, and Health Theme Issue from Health Affairs
• U.S. Seeks New Limits on Food Ads for Children (New York Times)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Carmel Shachar of Harvard Law School to the pod to discuss a recent Forefront article she co-authored that broke down the Kennedy v. Braidwood Management case focusing on access to preventive care and how the Supreme Court's framing of the relationship between the HHS Secretary and advisory bodies recommending preventive care might set a precedent worth noting.

Join us for these upcoming Insider exclusive events:

• 9/29: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform
• 10/15: Immigration Policies and Their Impact on Health Care

Become an Insider today to get access to our trend reports, events, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

• Braidwood's Double-Edged Sword and The Dismantling of Preventive Care (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc.
• Kennedy v. Braidwood: The Supreme Court Upheld ACA Preventive Services but That’s Not the End of the Story (KFF)
• Insurance Coverage Without Cost Sharing for Preventive Health Care Restored by the Supreme Court (JAMA)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Health Affairs's Akilah Wise to discuss the recent CDC executive changes, HHS staff culture clashes with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., changes in federal vaccine recommendations, and research examples where health policy influences health care behavior.

Health Affairs released a new theme issue focusing on insights from the opioids crisis. Subscribe to the journal to never miss out on an upcoming issue.

Join us for these upcoming events:

• 9/17: Lunch & Learn: The Current Opioids Policy Landscape & What’s Ahead (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/23: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

Become an Insider today to get access to our trend reports, events, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

• Disparities In County COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Linked To Disadvantage And Hesitancy (Health Affairs)
• Guaranteed Cash Incentives Boosted COVID-19 Vaccinations Of Young Adults: Evidence From West Virginia (Health Affairs)
• HHS schedules next vaccine panel meeting after CDC director ousted (Politico)
• Concerned about federal vaccine policies, states are crafting their own (NPR)
• Modeling Reemergence of Vaccine-Eliminated Infectious Diseases Under Declining Vaccination in the US (JAMA)
• HHS employees demand RFK Jr. resign for ‘compromising the health of this nation’ (CNN)
• At Senate hearing, lawmakers express dissatisfaction with RFK Jr.’s vaccine moves (Healthcare Dive)
• Trump admin agrees to restore public health webpages (Axios)
• 1 in 5 US workers say they’re ignoring return-to-office rules (HR Dive)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Katie Keith of Georgetown Law and Deputy Editor Chris Fleming to the pod to discuss the recent Supreme Court case, American Public Health Association et al. v. National Institutes of Health et al., that explores the lawfulness of the NIH's termination of nearly $800 million worth of grant funding for programs due to DEI association.

This week, Health Affairs released a new theme issue focusing on insights from the opioids crisis. Subscribe to the journal to never miss out on an upcoming issue.

Join us for these upcoming events:

• 9/17: Lunch & Learn: The Current Opioids Policy Landscape & What’s Ahead (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/23: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

Become an Insider today to get access to our trend reports, events, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

• Unpacking The Supreme Court’s Decision Over NIH Funding (Health Affairs Forefront)
• American Public Health Association et al. v. National Institutes of Health et al.
• A closely watched legal battle over NIH funding cuts could settle soon (STAT+)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Andrew Twinamatsiko of O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law back to the program to discuss pharmacy benefit managers, the laws around PBMs, the statutes in place from the Express Scripts Inc. v. Richmond case, and more.

Next week, Health Affairs will be releasing a new theme issue focusing on insights from the opioids crisis. Subscribe to the journal to never miss out on an upcoming issue.

Join us for these upcoming events:

• 9/3: Theme Issue Briefing: Insights About The Opioid Crisis (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/17: Lunch & Learn: The Current Opioids Policy Landscape & What’s Ahead (FREE TO ALL)

Related Articles:

• Arkansas PBM law could spur lookalike restrictions (Axios)
• Express Scripts Inc et al v. Richmond et al (Judicial Publications)
• PBM lobby sues Arkansas over law requiring drug middlemen to sell pharmacies (Healthcare Dive)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to take a look at recent news that HHS terminated 22 mRNA projects. The two explore the agency's reasoning, political and Wall Street reactions, and what it could mean for health care innovation.

Join us for these upcoming events:

• 8/26: Provider Prices in the Commercial Sector: Independent Dispute Resolution (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/3: Theme Issue Briefing: Insights About The Opioid Crisis (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/17: Lunch & Learn: The Current Opioids Policy Landscape & What’s Ahead (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/23: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

Become an Insider today to get access to exclusive events like the ones highlighted above.

Related Articles:

• HHS abandons mRNA vaccine research (BioPharma Dive)
• 1 big thing: RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine revolution (Axios)
• Moderna Stock Jumps as NIH Chief Tempers Administration’s Attack on mRNA (Barron's)
• 750 HHS employees send signed letter to RFK Jr. asking him to stop spreading misinformation (ABC News)
• Industry frets Kennedy’s mRNA decision will curb cancer breakthroughs (Politico Pro)

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

In the wake of Medicare and Medicaid's 60th anniversary, Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Jamila Michener of Cornell University to the pod to discuss her recent Forefront article on organized power and its impact on the future of Medicaid.

Also, join us for these upcoming events:

• 8/26: Provider Prices in the Commercial Sector: Independent Dispute Resolution (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/3: Theme Issue Briefing: Insights About The Opioid Crisis (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/23: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

Become an Insider today to get access to exclusive events like the ones highlighted above.

Related Articles:

• Order Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics (Cambridge University Press)
• Medicare and Medicaid at 60 Forefront Series

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