Health Equity & Access Weekly Roundup: February 13, 2026

Employer Premiums and Deductibles Consume Significant Portion of Income in 19 States

Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums and deductibles consume at least 10% of median household income in 19 states, with Southern states—including Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Florida—among the hardest hit, according to a new analysis. In Louisiana, families spend 15.6% of median income on premium contributions and deductibles, compared with just 5.7% in the District of Columbia. In 5 states, premium contributions alone exceed the Affordable Care Act’s 8.39% affordability threshold. With more than 60% of working-age adults under 65 relying on employer coverage, the report highlights growing affordability gaps as health care costs are projected to rise in 2026, driven by higher service prices, labor shortages, inflation, and limited insurer competition.

Free Prescription Drugs for Seniors Cut Catastrophic Spending by 62% in Poland

Poland’s “Drugs 75+” policy, which eliminated out-of-pocket costs for select prescription medications for adults 75 years and older, significantly reduced seniors’ financial burden and risk of catastrophic drug spending, according to a new study. Using national expenditure data and an age-based eligibility cutoff, researchers estimated that monthly medication spending fell by $8.36 (a 23% reduction), and the share of income devoted to drugs declined by 2 percentage points. The probability of catastrophic drug spending dropped by nearly 10 percentage points, a 62% relative reduction, indicating substantial financial risk protection. However, the policy did not significantly reduce poverty, as higher-income and urban households captured larger absolute savings. The study also found modest increases in spending on unhealthy goods, such as alcohol and tobacco, among eligible households, suggesting possible behavioral responses to improved financial security. Overall, the findings highlight both the protective financial effects and potential trade-offs of universal prescription drug subsidies for seniors.

Bridging the Academic-Community Gap in Cancer Care: Andrew Yee, MD

In an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®), Andrew Yee, MD, clinical director of the Center for Multiple Myeloma at Massachusetts General Hospital, emphasized that academic cancer care best practices must be practical and easy to implement to succeed in community settings with fewer resources. He said therapies that demonstrate clear clinical benefit—such as 4-drug regimens incorporating anti-CD38 antibodies and newer bispecific antibodies approved across multiple tumor types—are more likely to gain traction in community oncology, especially as their indications expand. Yee stressed the importance of strong communication and trusted relationships between academic centers and community physicians, including providing clear, practical guidance on real-world treatment delivery that may differ from clinical trial protocols. As complex therapies like bispecific antibodies move into broader use, he noted that support must extend beyond oncologists to emergency departments and hospital staff, who need to recognize and manage potential toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity.

Bringing Academic Oncology Best Practices to Community Care: Anasuya Gunturi, MD, PhD

In another interview with AJMC, Anasuya Gunturi, MD, PhD, chief and medical director at Lowell General Hospital, highlighted how academic–community partnerships can expand access to complex oncology services while accounting for local resource constraints. She explained that community hospitals can emulate academic best practices, such as multidisciplinary cancer clinics, by fostering strong communication and securing buy-in across specialties, citing the development of a coordinated breast cancer program as a successful example. Gunturi also described adapting genetics services by using local counselors with academic oversight to reduce travel burdens for patients. Academic centers further support community care by sharing surgical expertise, treatment protocols, and toxicity management guidance, as well as through continuing education. However, financial, operational, and staffing limitations mean not all advanced services, such as resource-intensive radiation techniques, can be offered locally, requiring strategic decisions about when to refer patients to larger academic institutions.

Redlining Linked to Breast Cancer Survival Gaps: Sarah M. Lima, PhD, MPH

Historical redlining is linked to worse survival outcomes for breast cancer patients living in D-grade, “hazardous” neighborhoods, a new study uncovered. Lead author Sarah M. Lima, PhD, MPH, explained that while disparities narrowed during the 1990s due to broader access to screening and emerging treatments, they widened again between 2015 and 2019 as new therapies, such as CDK4/6 and PARP inhibitors, became available primarily to patients in higher-income, A-graded neighborhoods. The study showed that survival gaps were most pronounced for early-stage, hormone receptor–positive cancers, for which treatment access and quality can make the greatest difference, whereas screening rates were relatively similar across neighborhoods. Lima emphasized that these disparities reflect long-standing structural inequities in socioeconomic resources, health care access, and hospital capacity, and that addressing them will require systemic solutions across housing policy, insurance coverage, and the equitable delivery of medical innovations.