JAMA Health Forum Conversations

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in ambulatory care. In this interview with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, of Harvard Medical School discusses how access to care and preventive services changed for different racial and ethnic groups in the US from 2019 to 2022. Related Content:

• Changes in Health Care Access and Preventive Health Screenings by Race and Ethnicity

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Lindsay D. Allen, PhD, about how setting-specific opioid prescription duration limits helped reduce opioid overuse in West Virginia. Related Content:

• Opioid Prescribing Patterns After Imposition of Setting-Specific Limits on Prescription Duration

Smoking remains a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the US. Rafael Meza, PhD, of the British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, discusses recent trends in smoking by US adults across different age and income groups in this interview with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content:

• Trends in US Adult Smoking Prevalence, 2011 to 2022

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, speak with Ge Bai, PhD, CPA, author of Pharmacy Benefit Managers: History, Business Practices, Economics, and Policy, about how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have evolved in recent decades to play a central role in the US prescription drug market, including the benefits and policy challenges that PBMs present in this market. Related Content:

• Pharmacy Benefit Managers

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, spoke with Heather Taylor, MD, from Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, about the costs of untreated mental illness in the state of Indiana. Considering a wide set of direct and indirect costs, her team estimated the cost to Indiana is over $4 Billon per year. Related Content:

• Economic Burden Associated With Untreated Mental Illness in Indiana

In this interview, JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, explore with Erin K. McCreary, PharmD, and Atheendar S. Venkataramani, MD, PhD, how a large regional health system used a weighted lottery and intensive outreach to provide high-risk individuals in disadvantaged communities more equitable access to scarce monoclonal antibodies for preventing COVID-19. Related Content:

• Weighted Lottery to Equitably Allocate Scarce Supply of COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody
• Moving Beyond Intent and Realizing Health Equity

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Sandra B. Nelson, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston), her JAMA Health Forum study of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools in Massachusetts during 2 different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. She found transmission rates were very low but varied by district and the availability of vaccines. Related Content:

• Prevalence and Risk Factors for School-Associated Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Associate Editor Julie Donohue, PhD, speak with Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, and Genevieve P. Kanter, PhD, about the role of advisory committees convened by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to guide its decisions on whether to approve new prescription drugs. They also consider how the FDA has responded to recommendations from these advisory committees over the past decade. Related Content:

• Association of Advisory Committee Votes With US Food and Drug Administration Decision-Making on Prescription Drugs, 2010-2021
• The Real Question the FDA Is Asking Its Advisory Committees

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, talk with Anne N. Thorndike, MD, MPH, about the challenge of connecting Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) members with flexible benefits to address food and housing insecurity issues. Dr Thorndike and colleagues used a mixed-methods approach to conduct this evaluation of the implementation of a novel program in an ACO in Massachusetts. Related Content:

• Assessment of the Massachusetts Flexible Services Program to Address Food and Housing Insecurity in a Medicaid Accountable Care Organization

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, discuss with Brystana G. Kaufman, PhD, Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, how health care use and spending differ for individuals residing in the community or nursing homes who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. They also explore the potential value of more tailored approaches to integrating benefits covered by these 2 public insurance programs. Related Content:

• Health Care Use and Spending Among Need-Based Subgroups of Medicare Beneficiaries With Full Medicaid Benefits