Health Equity & Access Weekly Roundup: February 27, 2026

Rising Costs Cited by 68% of GLP-1 Users as a Major Treatment Barrier

A nationwide Navitus Health Solutions Pulse Survey of 2000 adults currently or recently using glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists found that affordability is a major barrier to treatment initiation and continuation, with 68% saying cost influenced their decisions. Nearly a quarter of respondents pay more than $250 per prescription fill, and about 8% pay $500 or more, while 44% reported costs higher than expected, and 60% know someone who cannot afford therapy. Although nearly 40% have used coupons or discount programs, many expressed safety concerns about lower-cost, non–FDA-approved alternatives, with more than 86% willing to pay more for approved medications. More than 70% supported utilization management strategies such as prior authorization to help manage access responsibly. The findings echo broader polling showing affordability challenges even among insured patients and underscore growing pressure on health plans as GLP-1 use expands, highlighting the need for coordinated efforts among employers, plans, manufacturers, and policymakers to balance cost control with sustained patient access.

Historic NYC Nursing Strike Ends With 3-Year Contract Wins

The largest nursing strike in New York history ended February 21, 2026, after 41 days, as more than 15,000 members of the New York State Nurses Association ratified new 3-year contracts with Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Montefiore. The agreements address longstanding concerns over unsafe staffing ratios, workplace violence, and health benefits and include salary increases of at least 12% over 3 years, with 4% annual raises at Montefiore and Mount Sinai. The contracts also establish enforceable safe staffing standards, protections related to artificial intelligence, and safeguards for immigrant patients and nurses. Union leaders hailed the outcome as a victory for patient care and labor solidarity, emphasizing that improved staffing is linked to better patient outcomes, while noting that efforts will now shift toward enforcing the new provisions and holding employers accountable.

Opening of South Side Trauma Center Linked to 3.9% Drop in Firearm Mortality

The 2018 opening of a Level 1 trauma center at the University of Chicago Medical Center was associated with a measurable reduction in firearm mortality in a long-standing urban trauma desert, according to a cohort study examining 45,150 shooting incidents in Chicago from 2010 to 2024. Using an interrupted time-series design, investigators found that travel time to the nearest trauma center within the South Side service area fell by about 9.5 minutes and travel distance declined by 3.4 miles after the trauma center opened. Most importantly, firearm mortality in the catchment area decreased by 3.9% at the intervention point, an effect estimated to translate to roughly 79 lives saved annually in a scenario with 2000 injuries, despite rising mortality trends prior to 2018 and no similar changes outside the service area. The findings suggest that strategically locating trauma centers in high-need, historically underserved neighborhoods may help reduce time-sensitive injury deaths and address geographic and racial disparities in trauma care access.

Nurse Understaffing Linked to Higher Mortality, Readmissions

Hospital nurse understaffing was associated with worse patient outcomes, including higher in-hospital mortality, increased 30-day readmission rates, and longer length of stay, according to a large retrospective cohort study. Analyzing 77,289 admissions across multiple medical and surgical wards in Japan, researchers compared adequately staffed and understaffed nursing shifts using propensity score matching and multilevel modeling, showing that patients exposed to lower nursing hours per patient day had significantly higher mortality during 24-hour and day-shift periods and greater risk of readmission. The findings reinforce prior international evidence linking nurse staffing levels with missed care and patient harm, supporting arguments from groups such as the New York State Nurses Association advocating for safe nurse-to-patient ratios. The authors concluded that continuous monitoring and improvement of daily staffing levels may help reduce adverse outcomes and improve the quality of hospital care.

Employers Turn to Carve-Out Strategies to Control GLP-1 Costs, Increase Access: Eric Levin

As demand for GLP-1 weight-loss medications rises, employers and pharmacy benefit managers are adopting navigation and savings tools to manage costs while maintaining access, according to an interview with Eric Levin, the CEO and cofounder of Scripta. The company promotes carve-out purchasing strategies that combine marketplace-style price comparison with programs such as RXSaveCard to bypass opaque rebate-based pricing and allow predictable cost-sharing between plans and members, particularly by leveraging lower, cash-pay direct-to-consumer options like manufacturer pharmacies. Platforms like Scripta’s GLP-1 Navigator aim to help patients compare insurance, cash, coupon, and support service options in a rapidly changing market, similar to consumer shopping sites, by aggregating real-time pricing and clinical or coaching resources in 1 location. The approach is intended to improve transparency, reduce the risk of overpaying for medications, and help organizations control specialty drug spending while preserving patient access.