Center on Health Equity & Access

A Commonwealth Fund analysis finds employer health premiums and deductibles exceed 10% of income in 19 states, worsening affordability gaps.

PBM reforms, Medicare Advantage trends, TrumpRx launch, and Express Scripts settlement highlight key shifts in drug pricing, coverage, and patient access.

A survey found many patients with long-term conditions prefer remote visits for results and refills, but some trade continuity for faster care.

Ameet Patel, MD, discusses scaling CAR T-cell therapy and bispecific therapies to improve access and potentially cure multiple myeloma.

Vishal A. Patel, MD, explains that delayed skin cancer diagnoses contribute to more advanced disease and poorer outcomes in patients with darker skin.

Medically integrated dispensing (MID) models help build patient trust in pharmacists, which can help improve adherence, explains Kenneth Komorny, PharmD, BCPS.

Community partnerships and trial design reforms can reduce travel barriers and improve underserved patient representation, said Amir Fathi, MD.

Patient navigators, community health workers, and/or peer advocates serve as trusted community resources for patients, Susan Vadaparampil, PhD, MPH, says.

Catchment areas, access, and partnerships influence diversity in oncology trials, Amir Fathi, MD, explains at a Boston IVBM panel.

The postpandemic reinstatement of Medicare’s 3-day rule lengthened hospital stays without affecting SNF use, spending, or short-term outcomes, raising questions about its value.

From prior authorization delays to PBM reforms and Medicaid gaps, experts track policy shifts that shape health equity and health care access nationwide.

Oral semaglutide (Wegovy; Novo Nordisk) expands GLP-1 weight-loss options, but pharmacy budgets and health care cost pressures persist.

Susan Vadaparampil, PhD, MPH, highlights disparities in cancer outcomes and trial enrollment but underscores that linking community screening programs with cancer centers may help.

Stroke patients face unequal access to clot-removal care; race and insurance shape transfers, even with Medicare—here’s what must change, according to Luke Messac, MD, PhD.

Oral Wegovy shifts GLP-1 obesity costs: insurance may match injectables, while cash-pay and pharmacy platforms unlock lower prices and aid programs.

Clearer definitions, tailored programs and policies, and telestroke care could help close rural stroke care disparities.

Collaborative care use has surged 26-fold, but state reimbursement gaps leave many patients without integrated mental health care in primary care.

A spending bill advancing PBM reforms aims to delink Medicare Part D compensation from drug rebates and improve pricing transparency.

Policy strategist Kristi Martin discusses how the Orphan Drug Act reshapes rare disease treatment and drug-pricing challenges.

A European Respiratory Journal study shows pulmonary fibrosis affects sexual function and quality of life, calling for open clinician-patient conversations.

Prior authorization remains a major health care barrier, causing delays and frustrations for insured adults seeking necessary treatments.

Explore critical health equity issues as barriers to care access and health disparities that impact treatment for allergic rhinitis and childhood vaccinations.

AAP’s 2026 immunization schedule continues protection against 18 diseases as the CDC reduces its recommendations to 11.

Experts raise concerns that CDC childhood immunization changes could reduce vaccine uptake and weaken trust in public health guidance.

Minnesota physicians warn ICE activity in hospitals and clinics is deterring care, undermining patient safety, and worsening health outcomes.