Center on Health Equity & Access

Learn more about the 2025 Physician Fee Schedule, new health equity initiatives, improving maternal health, and pharmaceutical innovations at the Center on Health Equity & Access.

The 2025 Physician Fee Schedule includes a conversion factor reduction, expanded behavioral health services, extended telehealth waivers, new Quality Payment Program pathways, and measures to address suspect billing, alongside a Biden administration initiative introducing federal maternal health standards for hospitals.

Today, the Siftwell 2024 Medicaid-Eligible Health Equity Index report highlighted ongoing challenges and barriers that underscore the need for systemic changes to improve health care access and outcomes for vulnerable groups.

Cigarette smoking among other modifiable risk factors were significantly associated with cancer cases and deaths.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the chief medical officer of CVS Health about recent pharmaceutical innovations, patient-provider relationships, and strategies to reduce drug costs.

Rachel Dalthorp, MD, explains that zuranolone is recommended as the first-line medication, alongside psychotherapy, to effectively manage postpartum depression (PPD) and mitigate long-term impacts.

A quality improvement program found that maternal blood pressure (BP) screening during early well-child visits significantly improves the early detection and management of postpartum hypertensive disorders.

Kim Zynn, vice president of UPMC Health Plan's provider network and development relations team, shares how physicians can become LGBTQIA+ affirming providers, which is designated within the health plan.

AJMC's Center on Health Equity & Access shares new developments in HIV treatment, gynecological and multidisciplinary cancer care, and health care barriers faced by older Americans.

The authors advocate for a strategy that reallocates the substantial workforce effort and financial resources currently devoted to low-value care to enhance access and affordability of high-value services.

Kathryn Lindley, MD, FACC, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, emphasizes the importance of bringing heart health care to patients and meeting them where they are.

Michael A. Choti, MD, MBA, Banner MD Anderson, cochaired the second annual Advancing Value-Based Oncology Care meeting and shared insights into the goals of this year's event and value-based medicine as a whole.

Minority patients with gynecologic cancers are more likely than White patients to receive treatment at academic facilities, a recent study found.

Jared Baeten, MD, PhD, discusses when lenacapavir could be available for the prevention of HIV, as well as other trials in the PURPOSE program.

In addition to ensuring residency programs provide educational and practical opportunities for addressing skin of color (SOC) hair-related concerns, prioritizing having residents of diverse backgrounds can help close knowledge and comfort gaps, suggest researchers.

Douglas Weber, MD, explains how zuranolone has changed the landscape for postpartum depression treatment, addressing a gap in care within maternal health.

Charlie Borowicz, manager of trans and gender diverse health at Allegheny Health Network, shares how the program offers comprehensive patient-first care to those in the LGBTQ+ and gender diverse community.

This new report reveals that the US has made minimal progress in advancing health care equity over the past 2 decades.

The use of Plan B fell by 60% in states that implemented near-total abortion bans after Roe v. Wade was overturned; the Biden administration will impose inflation penalties on 64 prescription drugs in the third quarter of 2024; the FDA recently released draft guidance to ensure that drug companies and medical device makers enroll more women and people of color in clinical trials.

In this fifth, and final, special bonus episode of our Pride Month series, we speak with Lauren Albrecht, director of advocacy and organizing, and Layla Orlando, director of health equity and wellness, at Garden State Equality, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus advocacy organization in New Jersey.

Rising gun deaths and injuries call for safety measures and research; rise in cases linked to summer travel, gatherings, and emerging variants; a facility will become the largest life sciences investment in North Carolina history

In our fourth Pride Month podcast episode, we are speaking with Domenico Ruggerio, executive director of We Are Family, in Charleston, South Carolina, the state's oldest nonprofit to provide life-affirming and life-saving programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) youth.

With an effective therapy available for treating postpartum depression, Rachel Dalthorp, MD, believes health care providers need to focus on educating patients and helping them navigate the health system so zuranolone can reach those who need it.

This week, the Center on Health Equity & Access featured expert perspectives on sickle cell disease, obesity, psychological safety, LGBTQ+ health, and postpartum depression.

The University Hospitals CINEMA program aims to address issues and narrow gaps in obesity management, with a focus on meeting patients where they are and providing them tools for success, says Ian Neeland, MD.