Center on Health Equity & Access

OCM showed no increased likelihood of starting systemic therapy in patients with newly diagnosed cancers, despite gains in poor-prognosis cases.

A lengthy Ways and Means Committee hearing revealed extensive Medicare system exploitation and ignited partisan debates on fixing it.

New reports spotlight inequities—from Black maternal mortality to 988’s youth impact—as well as rising cancer risk and gaps in food aid.

Pediatric care deserts push Medicaid families into costly ED visits; learn how primary care access gaps fuel chronic issues and spending.

Fran Gregory, PharmD, MBA, explains why community providers can't go it alone—and how specialty pharmacy is stepping in to carry the load.

Rani Bansal, MD, explores what's driving the surge in breast cancer in young women and why earlier, risk-based screening matters.

Parth Desai, MBBS, MD, discusses how clinicians balance liquid biopsy, tissue testing, and fast-start chemo to personalize non–small cell lung cancer treatment.

A faster, cheaper alternative to karyotyping, DNA index testing shows near-perfect accuracy for detecting high hyperdiploidy in pediatric patients with leukemia.

Discussion covered lung cancer biomarker testing, care in hematologic malignancies, health equity in cancer screening, and medically integrated pharmacy dispensing

988 Lifeline rollout linked to 11% drop in youth suicide deaths, with greater reductions in states with higher call uptake, study finds.

There was comparable 12-month fitness and functional outcomes in lymphoma survivors, suggesting a scalable option to expand access to cardio-oncology care.

Young-onset CRC mortality rose over 3 decades in the US, largely among adults with lower educational attainment, widening socioeconomic gaps.

Black Maternal Health Week spotlights disparities, Medicaid postpartum coverage gains, and ongoing policy efforts to reduce maternal mortality.

Clinical trials are evolving toward decentralized, patient-centered models, but enrollment challenges, outdated protocols, and infrastructure gaps persist.

Results of 2 programs show what it takes to move social determinants of health from research into clinical practice—and what’s still missing.

Food insecurity remains among children above SNAP limits, highlighting broad-based categorical eligibility gaps that exclude at-risk families just over eligibility thresholds.

Receipt of an insurer-provided grocery benefit was associated with decreased rates of diabetes with complications and increased medication adherence among a population with diabetes.

Daryl Pritchard, PhD, discusses the challenges to implementing biomarker testing that would advance precision medicine and improve patient outcomes in oncology.

At AMCP 2026, Kelsea Aragon, PharmD, discussed PrEP coverage, long-acting injectables, and payer strategies to improve HIV treatment access and adherence.

Quality metrics for screening tests must evolve to mandate diagnostic resolution, ensuring financial and clinical incentives prioritize the complete screening continuum over initial test uptake.

At AMCP 2026, Adam Colborn, JD, warns the Alternatives to PAIN Act may expand access but risk destabilizing Medicare Part D and limiting plan participation.

Abby Kim, PharmD, delves into oncology trends, biomarker testing gaps, and evolving clinical pathways shaping precision care and treatment decisions.

The 2026 Regional Diabetes Summit is taking place from April 28 to 29, 2026, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Ben Urick, PharmD, PhD, examines GLP-1 coverage gaps and real-world evidence challenges shaping payer decisions and obesity treatment access.

Hayley Knollman, MD, explains how ctDNA and genomic testing impact ER-positive metastatic breast cancer care, guiding sequencing decisions amid evolving HER2 categories.