This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

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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

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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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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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)

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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)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

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)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Dr. Aaron Carroll, President and CEO of AcademyHealth, to the pod to discuss his recent Forefront article that takes a closer look at the disappearance of public health information and how this could have an impact on infrastructures that scientists, clinicians, health policy makers, and community leaders rely on daily.

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

Related Links:

• AcademyHealth Situation Reports
• PRESS RELEASE: AcademyHealth Joins Lawsuit to Restore Public Health Data Removed from Federal Websites
• Become an AcademyHealth Member

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Ryan Golden, Senior Reporter at HR Dive, to the pod to discuss workforce trends within the health care space pertaining to artificial intelligence, recruitment, overtime eligibility requirements, pay transparency, noncompete agreements, remote work, RTO policies, and more.

This week, Health Affairs released their second Insider trend report focusing on the health care workforce, titled "The Health Care Workforce: A Challenge In Sustainability."

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

Related Links:

• HR Dive
• Tracker: A running list of states and localities that require employers to disclose pay or pay ranges (HR Dive)
• Tracker: A running list of states and localities that regulate AI in hiring (HR Dive)
• Event: The HR Dive 2026 open enrollment and total rewards playbook

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad to the pod to discuss the Forefront series, Supplemental Benefits In Medicare Advantage, and how articles from the series elaborated on issues such as challenges in understanding and accessing benefits, CMS requirements to collect encounter data, the intersection of MA supplemental benefits with Medicaid long-term services and supports, and more.

Become an Insider today to get access to exclusive events, our recent trend report on AI in health care, and monthly newsletters from authors such as Stacie Dusetzina, David Simon, Brent Fulton, and others.

Upcoming Insider Exclusive Events include:

• 6/17: Risk Adjustment Trends & Reform with J. Michael McWilliams
• 7/9: Supreme Court Wrap-Up with moderator Sara Rosenbaum joined by panelists William Sage, Barak Richman, and Renee Landers

View all Upcoming Events.

Related Articles:

• The People Say
• Flex Cards In Medicare Advantage: A Closer Look At Impact and Challenges (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Medicare Advantage And Supplemental Long-Term Services And Supports: A Small Step In The Right Direction (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Time To Reexamine The Role Of Supplemental Benefits In Medicare Advantage (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Medicare Advantage Supplemental Benefits: Origins, Evolution, And Issues For Policy Making (Health Affairs Forefront)

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