Center on Health Equity & Access

A senator opposes the Biden drug price negotiation plan and proposes a new model to help manage weight loss drug costs; Black children are underdiagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared with their White peers; lawmakers and witnesses said that policy makers must balance innovation with potential harms when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.

Industry stakeholders and patient advocacy groups are raising concerns with CMS due to high denial rates for non-invasive ventilators (NIVs) by Medicare Advantage plans.

Investigators propose potential payment models for gene therapies that consider equitable patient access and payer reimbursement.

Care in the fourth-trimester, when the birth has taken place and the mother and baby return home, is crucial for the well-being of the mother or the birthing person, Takiyah Durham, MBA, explains in an interview.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect heart attack risk signs and prevent sudden cardiac death; Advocates demand the Biden administration finalize the proposed FDA ban on menthol cigarettes; Gun violence survivors and their families have many ongoing medical needs.

Peter A. Lio, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, lists barriers to care for dermatology patients.

The prevalence of severely elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has declined in recent decades, but 1 in 17 US adults in a recent analysis had levels of LDL-C that would warrant consideration of pharmacotherapy, and 1 in 48 had high levels of LDL-C that are indicated for medication.

Patient input and experiences play a crucial role in advancing rare disease research and therapy development, as they help define the disease, inform clinical trial design, and influence regulators and payers' decisions, ultimately serving as catalysts for innovation in the field.

Presenters at American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2023 highlighted the importance of understanding the barriers faced by the LGBTQ+ community that impact kidney outcomes and the need to gather better data for studying these issues.

Data from 2176 US counties link obesity and higher breast cancer mortality, while also showing varying degrees of association between mortality and access to healthy lifestyle options per social determinants of health (SDOH).

The Enhancing Oncology Model is trying to address a number of the systemic challenges oncology faces without giving practices the tools and resources they need, said Nicolas Ferreyros, managing director of policy, advocacy, and communications, Community Oncology Alliance.

A retrospective study presented at the 2023 American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnotsic Medicine meeting revealed that social determinants of health (SDOH) are linked to poorer treatment outcomes in patients who have myasthenia gravis, emphasizing the need for identifying and supporting at-risk individuals.

“Our findings further reinforce that place is important and that the social, economic, and health care equity context is key to minimizing health care expenditure disparities for Black adults in the US," investigators explain.

Many sleep experts want to permanently stay in the standard time zone; Medicare will cover mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists beginning in January; a new Minnesota law requires hospitals to check if patients are eligible for financial assistance before referring medical debt for collections.

This retrospective cohort study of rural hospitals found that Medicare Advantage penetration increased substantially from 2008 to 2019 and was associated with greater hospital sustainability.

The American Cancer Society expanded eligibility for lung cancer screening; experts advised patients to do their research before choosing a plan from the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces; Republican-led states partnering with rideshare companies for medical appointment rides.

Afreen Shariff, MD, MBBS, Duke Cancer Institute, discusses the challenges and benefits of electronic consults (e-consults) for patients with cancer currently undergoing treatment who have a comorbidity history or who develop an endocrine system disorder because of treatment.

In a study driven by simulation modeling, researchers elaborated on policies that contribute to widening health disparities affecting Indigenous communities.

Insurance status is known to be associated with health care access and outcomes, and a recent study found that maternal private insurance is associated with a lower infant mortality rate compared with public Medicaid insurance in the United States.

Data from the SPHERE registry revealed racial and ethnic discrepancies in disease severity, comorbidities, and outcomes experienced by patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) receiving selexipag.

Patients being unaware of their hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is preventing the World Health Organization (WHO) from accomplishing its goal of eliminating HCV and hepatitis B virus as public threats by 2030.

Investigators hope that ongoing research and addressing disparities can improve equitable access to asthma treatments for all pediatric patients.

Leaders from Every Cure and Moonshots for Unicorns highlight their work toward finding treatments for rare diseases currently without a cure.

Although all legislation is currently on hold in Congress, there are important actions under consideration for pharmacy, including digital therapeutics, access to care, and health care disparities.

The number of suicides among US military members and their families slightly decreased in 2022; Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation that would require employers to provide paid time off following a pregnancy loss; Pfizer and BioNTech’s flu–COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response against strains of the viruses in an early- to mid-stage trial.