As 2018 draws to a close, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®)'s co-editors-in-chief, A. Mark Fendrick, MD, director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan, and Michael E. Chernew, PhD, director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation Lab at Harvard Medical School, recapped their favorite AJMC® papers published in 2018, identified events from the year that are likely to impact future research in the journal, and looked ahead to 2019 with healthcare and health policy predictions.

Read more about the papers and news events mentioned:

Financial Burden of Healthcare Utilization in Consumer-Directed Health Plans: https://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n4/financial-burden-of-healthcare-utilization-in-consumer-directed-health-plans

A Randomized, Pragmatic, Pharmacist-Led Intervention Reduced Opioids Following Orthopedic Surgery: https://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n11/a-randomized-pragmatic-pharmacistled-intervention-reduced-opioids-following-orthopedic-surgery

Overall US Healthcare Spending Growth Slowed for Second Year, CMS Says: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/overall-us-healthcare-spending-growth-slows-for-second-year-cms-says

Levers to Reduce Use of Unnecessary Services: Creating Needed Headroom to Enhance Spending on Evidence-Based Care: https://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2018/2018-vol24-n8/levers-to-reduce-use-of-unnecessary-services-creating-needed-headroom-to-enhance-spending-on-evidencebased-care

Addressing Low-Value Care and a Better Benefit Design at the V-BID Summit: https://www.ajmc.com/managed-care-cast/addressing-lowvalue-care-and-a-better-benefit-design-at-the-vbid-summit

Federal Judge Strikes Down Affordable Care Act: https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/federal-judge-strikes-down-affordable-care-act

In the Wake of ACA Ruling, the Only Thing Certain Is Uncertainty: https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/in-the-wake-of-aca-ruling-the-only-thing-certain-is-uncertainty