Center on Health Equity & Access

HHS officials are moving forward with a plan to produce 4.8 million doses of H5N1 avian flu vaccine; Novo Nordisk’s long-acting insulin had a greater risk of excessively lowering patients’ blood sugar without offering better sugar level management; Los Angeles County launched an ambitious effort to tackle medical debt.

The data refute the rapid-onset gender dysphoria hypothesis by showing that the initially higher depressive symptoms reported by youths transitioning from cisgender to transgender or gender diverse were not significant after accounting for exposure to LGBT violence, the researchers wrote.

In a scientific session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference titled "An Inconvenient Truth: Health Disparities and Health Care Inequality in Respiratory Medicine," a number of experts discussed the various areas within the field that are impacted by disparities.

Julie Linton, MD, FAAP, immediate past chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health, discussed disparities within health care services impacting immigrant populations in the United States.

During a session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference, experts presented the most impactful data from the last year on acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), childhood asthma, health equity, and lung cancer.

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, from Stanford University, and Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, from the University of Colorado, joined Michael Howell, MD, MPH, of Google, on the stage at ATS 2024 to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.

The results of T1International’s 2022 Out-of-Pocket Expenses survey highlight many huge inequities in the US and around the world relating to insulin and diabetes care supplies.

The US Senate hosted a panel addressing physician and health care shortages and efforts to increase minority representation in the medical field. An expert discussed initiatives to prevent senior homelessness. Advocates called for the repeal of the Comstock Act. Regulatory reforms are called for to improve rural cancer patients' access to pharmacies. Research reveals the impact of denials on patient access to immunology treatments.

In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.

The senate hearing held by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vermont), chairman of the committee, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R, Louisiana), addressed the critical issue of physician and health care worker shortages, as well as the maternal health crisis, in the US.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, experts from Illinois CancerCare discuss CMS regulations limiting the access of rural patients with cancer to medically integrated pharmacies.

The CEO of SCAN Health Plan discusses its first-ever Environmental, Social, and Governance Report.

Chris Pagnani, MD, medical director and founder of Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates in Philadelphia, explains the importance of offering college students consistent care via telehealth while collaborating with their campus counseling centers.

This week's topics include frameworks for improving health equity nationwide, addressing social determinants of health, discussing CMS's Medicare rules, investigating breast cancer treatment refusal, and exploring HIV and major depressive disorder in underrepresented groups.

Public hospitals were significantly more likely to sustain access to unprofitable services following 340B Drug Pricing Program participation, while nonprofit hospitals were mostly unaffected, according to a recent study.

Results featured at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting revealed a pattern of prior authorization rejections that could delay necessary therapeutic treatments for various patient groups.

Due to often being overlooked as only carriers of hemophilia, the review authors sought to highlight the needs of female caretakers for patients with the disorder and the possibility of women themselves being affected by it.

A new study has linked racial and ethnic disparities with factors like age, income, and insurance to breast cancer treatment decline. Patients who received all treatments had better survival, highlighting the need for interventions to improve access and reduce disparities.

A cross-sectional analysis assessed the birth prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) alongside data on social vulnerability to highlight the needs of communities impacted by SCD.

In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.

A high burden of HIV could indicate other underlying factors, such as limited access to health care resources and a risk of major depressive disorder.

The Joint Commission is launching the Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program to standardize staff training and patient care practices at rural health clinics nationwide; the American Cancer Society recently launched the largest-ever study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women; the HHS COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved $732 billion by preventing illness and related costs.

Michael Morse, MD, FACP, MHS, medical oncologist at Duke Cancer Center, explained gaps in care access and equity that must be addressed to ensure all patients with liver cancer can get the treatments they need.

In this interview, Chris Pagnani, MD, PC, emphasizes the benefits of telemedicine and its role in improving accessibility, particularly in the realm of mental health care.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.